A Fine Line
by MondayChardonnay
Summary: Everyone knows that Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley hate each other. They really, really hate each other.
1. Prologue

**There's a fine line between love and hate...**

**Summary: Everyone knows that Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley hate each other. They really, _really_ hate each other.**

**Author's Note: I know that there are many Scorpius and Rose stories out there that start off with them hating each other and then progress into something more. I just couldn't help putting my own spin on that theme. Hopefully it's something different. This is my first fanfiction story...I have had many ideas floating around in my imagination but have never actually been motivated enough to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys, whatever the case may be). **** I was bored and procrastinating one day when I stumbled across Rose/Scorpius fanfiction and I just cannot get them out of my head.**For some reason, these two just won't leave me alone.

**I really hope that you enjoy! I'm planning on posting a new chapter every week, probably on Fridays, but if I end up getting them written faster, I'll update more quickly. If there isn't much interest, I probably won't keep going past the first few chapters but here's hoping! Please review with constructive criticism, I'd appreciate knowing what you think! And without further ado, here is...**

**A Fine Line**

**Prologue:**

The sounds of brutally dueling wizards brought more and more students running towards the third floor corridor that had once been home to Fluffy, the three-headed dog. Excited cries and nervous whispers gradually increased in volume, providing a rumbling backdrop to the fierce battle being waged before the gathering audience. Members of every house hurriedly began laying bets on which combatant would come out on top this time and how quickly the fight would be broken up. Half of the rapidly growing crowd cheered as Rose Weasley was catapulted backwards, her shoulders hitting the wall with a sickening thud and then groaned as she quickly jumped back onto her feet, causing the other half of the spectators to call out in support. She raised her wand, firing spells at her opponent while simultaneously charging him, having tired of the physical distance that dueling allowed. Scorpius Malfoy lowered his wand as she reached him, bracing himself for impact, and used her momentum to spin her body around and pin her to the wall. He relished the feeling as he overpowered her, enjoying the legendary Weasley temper that always resulted in her need to challenge him physically despite the fact that he towered over her five foot seven frame by nearly eight inches.

Rose gasped as Scorpius's hand closed around her throat, his fingers tightening until she found it difficult to draw breath. Gathering her wits, she brought her elbow up and around his arm, breaking his hold through one of the self-defense moves that her muggle-born mother had insisted she learn. (Of course the naturally rule-abiding Hermione Granger-Weasley had most likely never envisioned this particular situation when she ensured that her daughter would be able to defend herself should a moment arise when she could not count on magic to protect her). Twisting her body sideways, Rose brought her elbow back, jabbing it upwards and smirking wickedly when she felt the crunch of bone as it came into contact with Scorpius's nose.

As Scorpius stumbled back in pain, Rose landed a solid kick to the side of his knee, dropping his much larger body to the ground at her feet. The sound of their audience had long since faded for her, becoming a distant hum that could do nothing to distract her from her focus which, at the moment, was fixated on the boy currently sweeping his leg towards her feet in an attempt to bring her down with him. Despite her best efforts, Rose was unable to avoid his impressive reflexes and found herself tumbling down on top of him. He caught her as she fell, wrenching her beneath him and pinning her arms above her head while attempting to position his legs between hers in order to prevent her from using her knee to unman him. Rose flexed her hips upwards, ignoring the intimacy of the pose, and somehow managed to roll them so that she was staring down into the icy grey of his eyes. She pried her wrist from his grip and managed to land a jab to his stomach, taking advantage of his momentary breathlessness to struggle to her feet, grabbing her wand as she scrambled backwards and away from him.

Scorpius had also succeeded in reclaiming his wand from the floor and turned back to her just in time to deflect the dive-bombing canaries that Rose had summoned, another lesson from her mother that Hermione would be appalled to see used in these circumstances—although Rose had it on good authority from her father that he had been on the receiving end of those pointy little beaks more than once, as Hermione had been known to use the pretty yellow songbirds for more than just innocent diversions. Scorpius returned her attack with a disarming charm, which she quickly repelled. She knew that their time was running out and a small part of her mind tuned back in to her surroundings, waiting for the inevitable, while she and Scorpius carefully circled one another.

Over the shoulder of her adversary, Rose noticed the sea of students beginning to part as Headmistress Minerva McGonagall purposefully strode towards them. This was the moment Rose had been waiting for. She locked eyes with Scorpius, raising an eyebrow in challenge. His subtle nod was all the cue she needed before raising her wand and screaming,

"_Sectumsempra!"_

_"Protego!"_

_"Impedimenta!"_

Rose and Scorpius were both thrown backwards by McGonagall's spell, landing against the wall on opposite sides of the hallway. Their chests were heaving as they struggled for breath, their gazes locked, grey to blue. The crowd of spectators was quickly and silently dispersing in the face of the headmistress's simmering rage.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Weasley! My office! Now!" McGonagall screeched.

Both Rose and Scorpius winced reflexively at the sound of the cold fury in her voice, slowly getting to their feet. The headmistress stalked over to Rose and pried the wand from her fingers before doing the same to Scorpius. She did not say another word but turned on her heel and set off angrily down the hall, secure in the knowledge that she would be obeyed. Rose took a deep and somewhat shaky breath before trailing along behind the elderly yet imposing McGonagall, beside the boy she had been sworn enemies with since her first day at Hogwarts six years before.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius followed the headmistress through the third floor corridors to her office, their heads bowed and their mouths shut. The students and teachers they passed glanced at them briefly before resuming their activities as if nothing out of the ordinary had transpired. Seeing these two particular teenagers headed towards McGonagall's office, covered in bruises, their clothes tattered, and with blood dripping from scrapes and broken noses was a regular occurrence by this point in time. Most of the other occupants of the castle had learned to accept and ignore the battered pair as just another quirky aspect of living at Hogwarts. First years quickly adapted to the idea that two of their upperclassmen were known for attempting to murder each other on a regular basis and, once the shock and/or novelty had worn off, learned to ignore the evidence of yet another brawl.

McGonagall muttered the password to her office when they reached the gargoyle concealing the spiraling staircase. Rose and Scorpius ascended the moving stairs in her wake and then waited silently just inside the entrance as the headmistress moved to stand behind the solid wood of her desk. The portraits of the former headmasters of Hogwarts were whispering to one another, seemingly unsurprised by the fact that these two students once again found themselves in this situation. Albus Dumbledore lounged in his frame, somehow managing to look stern and amused at the same time, while Severus Snape sat quietly, his dark, intense gaze fixed upon Rose. She shifted uncomfortably and forced herself to look away.

McGonagall grabbed two pieces of parchment and quickly scrawled out a brief message on each before bringing them over to the large Great Horned Owl perched by the window. "They're urgent Zeus. See that the recipients open them immediately."

Once the owl had taken flight, McGonagall turned to the students who still stood with their heads bowed in front of her. "Sit down."

They sat, wincing as some of their bruises came into contact with the padded leather chairs.

"I have just sent letters to both of your parents asking them to come here straightaway. You have taken this little rivalry of yours too far. You're both of age, for Merlin's sake! You are entirely too old to not realize the consequences of your actions. Miss Weasley, are you even aware of what the last spell you attempted to use does?" she demanded.

Rose raised her eyes to the furious woman before her, doing her best to look ashamed. "I'm sorry headmistress. My father mentioned it and I thought it would be appropriate."

"Appropriate?! It could have killed him! And Mr. Malfoy! Would you care to explain why Miss Weasley has bruises around her throat?!"

Scorpius merely shrugged his shoulders, his gaze still aimed at the ground a few feet in front of McGonagall's desk.

"I have put up with your ridiculous behavior for far too long! It has become apparent that your parents have been unable to talk some sense into you and frankly…" She trailed off at the snort that came from both teenagers at her statement. "Do you find this amusing?" she growled, straightening her shoulders and raising herself up to her full height.

"No ma'am," Rose quickly answered. "It's just…our parents hate each other. Do you honestly believe that they've tried very hard to dissuade us from fighting?"

"My dad looks proud every time he hears about me winning one of our little skirmishes," Scorpius added, ignoring the sneering look of disgust that Rose aimed at him.

McGonagall sighed, shaking her head with disapproval. "Well frankly, I'm at the end of my rope. I have had it with you two and it has become clear that it will take something drastic to alter your behavior before one of you ends up dead. So here is what we are going to do. You will be serving detention every Saturday for the rest of the year and are prohibited from participating in any extra-curricular activities. And _yes_, this means no Quidditch for either one of you." She nodded contentedly at the involuntary gasps this statement drew from the students.

"In addition to this punishment, you are hereby placed on probation. If you even so much as think about harming one another, be it magically, physically, or psychologically, you will be expelled and out of this castle before you have the opportunity to follow through. Do I make myself clear?!"

Rose and Scorpius were staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the furious woman in front of them. They had not expected something quite this harsh but did not dare protest. Instead, they both gulped and nodded their heads in silent acquiescence.

"Good. Now get out of my office. Head down to the hospital wing and get yourselves fixed up and then get back to work. If I am not mistaken, you have NEWT level classes that you should be studying for."

McGonagall sat and picked up a quill, effectively dismissing them. "Your parents should have arrived by now. If they are outside, please send them in."

They descended the stairs to find both sets of parents in the hallway, their fathers glaring at one another. Draco Malfoy cut an imposing figure in crisp black robes, a stark contrast to his pale blonde hair and even paler skin. Beside him was his wife, Astoria, her hair pulled back into a severe bun and her pointed nose raised in the air. Ron Weasley stood across from them, one hand on the small of his wife's back, the other resting on the wand in his pocket. Hermione was the only one of the four to turn when their children emerged from the headmistress's office, shaking her head resignedly at the injuries she saw.

"Oh, Rose," Hermione sighed. "Aren't you two getting a bit too old for this kind of thing?"

"McGonagall said to go on up," Rose told her, pointedly ignoring her mother's question and causing the other three adults to break their staring contest and glance over.

Draco and Ron were making no effort to hide the fact that they were assessing the injuries of the other's child in an attempt to determine the winner of the day's confrontation, each looking satisfied with the damage their respective progeny had inflicted. Astoria looked on in disapproval, concern flickering across her countenance as she took notice of the blood coating the front of her son's robes and the crooked set of his nose.

Finally Ron spoke up, "Come on 'Mione, let's go see what McGonagall has to say this time. You'd better head on over to the hospital wing, Rosie. Have Madam Pomfrey take a look at you."

"Yes, Scorpius, you too," Astoria instructed her son in a wispy voice. "That nose doesn't look good."

Both children nodded as their parents turned and headed up the stairs to McGonagall's office, Draco and Ron still shooting hostile glances at one another. Sighing, Rose gestured to Scorpius and they made their way towards the hospital wing.

* * *

At the first empty classroom they passed, Scorpius grabbed Rose's elbow and hauled her inside. In an instant, he had her pinned against the wall, his fingers once again wrapped around her throat, this time gently stroking the marks he had left there. Rose looked up into his face and saw the agonized concern etched on his features as he examined her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know you said to make sure I made it look good, but I didn't mean to…"

"I'm fine. Redhead, remember? I bruise easily." She raised her hand and gently stroked a finger down his damaged nose. "I didn't think I elbowed you that hard."

"You didn't. You would have landed a glancing blow off my chin but I accidently leaned down."

Scorpius lowered his forehead to hers, taking in a deep, shuddering breath as he ran his hand from the base of Rose's throat and down her arm until his fingers were linked with hers.

"I was so worried that you wouldn't put up your shield charm quickly enough. I know we practiced it but I couldn't help imagining you lying on the floor bleeding out," Rose whispered, bringing her free hand up so that she could wrap her arm around his neck.

"Well it worked. Now we just have to hope that the rest of the plan goes as smoothly. Although I'm not exactly happy that McGonagall took away our Quidditch privileges."

"Yeah, well, it's not as if our captains didn't expect us to get banned at some point. They keep reserves for just such an occasion. In fact, I'm surprised that they keep letting us on the teams to begin with."

Scorpius smirked, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "We're just that good."

Rose let out a snort of laughter. "Right."

She pulled her head back, looking up at him. "Do you think it'll work?"

"I don't know. Hopefully. I think the fact that you used that spell will make McGonagall take the animosity between our parents more seriously at least."

"Let's just hope this will make them reevaluate the way that they see us. I am so ready to stop hiding the fact that I'm in love with you, Scor."

"Me too." Scorpius placed a gentle kiss on Rose's hairline before giving her hand one last squeeze and releasing it. "Come on. We should go get ourselves fixed up."

Rose nodded, giving him a brief smile before following him out of the classroom.

* * *

**The beautiful cover image can be found on deviantart. It is called "Undisclosed Desire" and is drawn by ~BncaRes. She is an incredible artist who has created several renditions of Scorpius and Rose, as well as many other characters from Harry Potter and several other fandoms. You should check out her work.**


	2. And so it begins

**Author's Note: I got on a roll so I'm posting this earlier than planned. That will probably happen from time to time when my muse decides to be cooperative. Please, please, ****_please_**** review to let me know what you think. I'm not the bitchy type of person to withhold chapters for reviews, but I would like to know that people are**** at least wanting to read this. Even if there are only a handful of people still interested, I promise I will keep posting. Just let me know that it's worth it.**

**Anyway, here is the first chapter! It is setting up Rose and Scorpius's relationship so it's pretty lengthy. We'll get to some more juicy action in the next chapter, I promise. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: And so it begins…**

**Six Years Earlier**

Rose Weasley shifted nervously from foot to foot as she stood beside her parents on Platform 9 ¾ on the morning of September first. It was the beginning of her first year of Hogwarts and she was both anxious and excited for it to begin. She could feel the butterflies come to life in her stomach as her father joked with her cousin Lily and her brother Hugo about disinheriting them if they didn't get sorted into Gryffindor. She shared a solemn look with her cousin Albus, who was also beginning his first year, noting how his face paled at the thought of the sorting.

Just then, her father caught her Uncle Harry's eye and _nodded covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist._

_"Look who it is."_

_Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized the pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly, and turned away again._

_"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."_

Rose looked over at the pale, thin boy curiously. She cocked her head, wondering at the challenging tone of her father's voice.

_"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"_

_"You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."__*****_

Rose looked up in time to see her mother roll her eyes. She caught her father's gaze and smiled as he winked at her before looking back over at the boy Ron had referred to as Scorpius. As she studied him, he turned his head, looking directly into her eyes. She felt a tingling sensation, as if she had walked through spell-frozen flames, but the feeling quickly abated as the boy averted his gaze. He turned to his father and nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk as he briefly looked back in her direction. She watched as his father patted him on the shoulder and his mother bent to give him a brief hug before steering him towards the steps of the train.

* * *

Rose stood in the massive shadow cast by Hagrid's hulking form at the back entrance to Hogwarts's Great Hall, along with the rest of the first years waiting to be sorted. Beside her was a very nervous and very jittery Albus, his unruly black hair falling into his eyes as he fidgeted. She looked across the expanse of the hall, noting all of the familiar faces at the Gryffindor table and crossed her fingers that she would be joining them shortly.

Finally, Headmistress McGonagall stood to address the gathering of students. "Welcome, all of you, to another year at Hogwarts. For those of you who do not yet know me, I am Professor McGonagall, your headmistress. I would briefly like to direct your attention to Mr. Filch, our caretaker, for a reminder of school policies concerning where and when you may wander throughout the castle and grounds."

Filch's slouched figure rose and his gravelly voice began reciting the multitude of forbidden activities, his tone betraying just how much he would relish the ability to punish any student guilty of disobedience. As Rose glanced around the hall, she noticed that the vast majority of those seated at the enormous house tables had tuned out the ancient caretaker, whispering amongst themselves while he droned on and on.

When Filch had finally finished his lecture and had taken his seat, McGonagall rose, gesturing to Hagrid that he should escort the first years to the front of the hall to be Sorted.

"And now, it is time for the Sorting Ceremony." McGonagall called out as Hagrid stepped forward and placed an old and battered stool in front of the group of trembling first years. He reverently placed the worn and frayed Sorting Hat on top of the wood before stepping back and smiling encouragingly at Rose and Albus.

The hat's brim opened wide and it began its song but Rose found she was too nervous to really comprehend its words. Her eyes kept scanning the Great Hall, taking in the upturned faces of the older students and the translucent shimmering of the many ghosts. She could not help but worry about which table she would be joining in a few brief moments. A high-pitched _wheeeeeeeeeeeee_ drew her attention to the towering doorway opening into the corridor, through which she could just barely make out the form of Peeves, the school's poltergeist, amusing himself by doing backflips in midair. She watched as a sixth year with a shiny prefect badge pinned to his chest shook his head and walked over to close the door to the distraction, an amused smirk on his face.

Rose was so caught up in her own thoughts that she jumped when McGonagall's voice cut through her musings. "First years, when I call your name, please step forward, take a seat on the stool, and place the Sorting Hat on your head.

"Beatrice Ceminsky." A mousy-looking girl with big brown eyes stumbled forward, carefully putting on the hat. After a few brief seconds, the brim of the hat opened and it called out,

"Hufflepuff!"

"Ariella Gould." Ariella gracefully lowered herself to the stool, nervously twirling a lock of her raven hair around her fingers as the hat deliberated.

"Gryffindor!" Rose watched as Ariella's face lit up and she skipped her way over to the Gryffindor table, joining Rose's cousins.

"Augustus Goyle." A large, brutish boy with a squashed-looking face sat, the hat barely touching his head before it made its decision.

"Slytherin!"

Several other students' names were called and houses selected before McGonagall called out the next name Rose recognized.

"Melinda Longbottom." Neville's daughter had inherited the wispy blonde hair that his wife, Hannah, possessed, along with the rounded, cheery face that both of her parents had lamented in their youth but grown out of as they matured. She and Rose had been friends all of their lives due to the fact that the Longbottoms were counted as family. She had spent many happy nights giggling her way through sleepovers in the owner's apartment of The Leaky Cauldron, where Melinda's mother was the proprietor.

"Gryffindor!" Rose looked up to see Neville at the Professor's table, his face beaming with pride as he applauded his daughter.

Rose's attention was quickly drawn back to the Sorting as Professor McGonagall called out, "Scorpius Malfoy." The boy her father had pointed out on the train platform slowly made his way to the stool and placed the sorting hat on his white-blond hair.

It seemed to take forever for the hat to make up its mind. Scorpius's face was scrunched up in concentration and he was nervously wringing his hands. Finally, the hat yelled, "Slytherin!" and the boy stood, shaking slightly, and made his way over to the table beneath the green and silver hangings.

"Ava Mathenson."

"Gryffindor!"

Then it was Albus's turn. The hall erupted in excited whispers as he walked to the stool. Even after nearly two decades, the name Potter still drew an enormous amount of attention, much to the dismay of the Potter family. In fact, Harry had often joked that he wished he had taken Ginny's name when they married so that he could at least get some privacy, lost somewhere in the extensive list of Weasleys. Rose crossed her fingers for her cousin, knowing that he was terrified that he would end up in Slytherin. After a few moments, the sorting hat finally yelled out,

"Gryffindor!" Rose clapped excitedly, attempting to ignore the butterflies that had decided to race one another around her stomach long enough to congratulate her cousin. Albus smiled her way before bounding over to sit beside his older brother James, who pounded him on the back as he took his place at the Gryffindor table.

"Lorcan Scamander."

"Gryffindor!"

"Lysander Scamander."

"Ravenclaw!"

Luna Lovegood's twin boys looked only slightly put out about the fact that they were being split up. Lysander wandered dreamily over to the Ravenclaw table while Lorcan beamed in Albus's direction and quickly moved to join his best friend.

"Oliver Swott."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Ronan Thomas."

"Gryffindor!"

"Silvia Vimes."

"Ravenclaw!"

Finally, it was Rose's turn. She moved, as if in a trance, to the front of the room, placing the hat on her head. From within its dark folds, she heard its voice begin to whisper in her ear. "And yet _another_ Weasley. I don't know why we even bother continuing to sort you lot. Of course you're all going to be,

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted aloud and Rose slumped, letting out a huge, relieved breath. She happily rose, making her way over to the Gryffindor table where the numerous members of her family were cheering loudly, making complete fools of themselves. So far, every member of the Weasley/Potter clan had managed to be sorted into Gryffindor.

"Nathaniel Wood."

"Gryffindor!"

"Francis Zabini."

"Slytherin!"

McGonagall rolled up the piece of parchment containing the names of the first years and swept her gaze over the Great Hall. "Now, you will all be getting your schedules tomorrow morning and the work will begin. But for now, enjoy the feast!"

A great cheer went up among the students as every kind of food imaginable materialized in front of them. Rose looked across the table and caught Albus's eye, an uncontrollable grin spreading over both of their faces, before he directed his attention to heaping portions of various treats onto his plate. Over his shoulder, Rose glimpsed a head of white-blond hair and glanced over at the Slytherin table, locking eyes with Scorpius Malfoy for a brief second. He smirked, causing her to lower her gaze. When she looked back up, he had turned away and was listening to the person next to him as they talked animatedly while simultaneously stuffing their mouth full of food.

* * *

The next morning, Rose headed down to the dungeons for her first Potions lesson along with the other Gryffindor and Slytherin first years. She entered the cold stone room alongside Albus, Lorcan, and Melinda, curious as to what the class would bring. Professor Slughorn was standing next to a bubbling cauldron in the front of the classroom, smiling at the students as they filed in one by one.

"Welcome, welcome. I see many familiar faces; know many of your parents, of course. Please, have a seat," he gestured to the tables. "I have just a quick little quiz to give all of you. Yes, yes I know. First day pop quizzes are hardly fair, but this one will not count towards your final grade, you can be glad of that. It's just to judge the general knowledge base of the classroom so that I can have an idea of where to start. It will also be used to pair you up into partners for the rest of the year according to ability. This way we don't have anyone being dragged down or bored. Now that doesn't sound so bad, does it?" Slughorn nodded firmly before flicking his wand towards the students, causing a piece of parchment with ten basic potions-related questions to appear before each of them. "I will give you ten minutes. Take your time and remember, it doesn't matter how well you do. It's just to give me an idea of your abilities. You may begin."

Rose, being Hermione Weasley's daughter, had of course already read _Magical Drafts and Potions_ as well as _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ and had inherited the ability to retain information easily. She quickly jotted down the answers to the rather simple questions Slughorn had provided and then sat back and waited for the rest of the class to finish. She glanced around the room, noting that the others were all scribbling furiously or staring at their papers in confusion. Only Scorpius Malfoy had also lowered his quill and was now lounging back in his seat, a bored expression on his face as he picked at the dirt under his fingernails.

"And that's time!" Slughorn called out, flicking his wand and causing the quizzes to fly across the room and into his outstretched hand. "Give me a moment to grade these and then I will assign you your partners!"

Slughorn sat at his desk and began quickly flipping through the tests, _hmm-_ing and _ahh_-ing as he marked them with his red-inked quill. Finally, he stood and ran his gaze over the classroom.

"Well, I am more impressed with some of you than others, but of course it is only to be expected that there will be a few in every class who have not yet decided to open their books. No matter, no matter. I am sure you will catch up soon. And now for your partners. Be warned. You will be paired with this person for the rest of the school year. There will be no switching, so don't even ask. Now let's see…" he rifled through the pieces of parchment until he pulled one triumphantly from the pile.

"Miss Weasley, you earned a perfect score! I see that you have inherited your mother's brains." He turned to the rest of the class. "Her parents are both members of the Golden Trio, you know. Her mother is one of the cleverest witches I have ever had the pleasure to teach. I still stop in to speak to her whenever I have business in the Ministry. She is a very important official in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but she is always happy to take the time to see me. And her father is an Auror, so he is rarely in the office when I am but he always has time for me as well."

Rose suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She knew for a fact that her parents would have a very different take on their interactions with the elderly Slytherin professor.

"And let's see who your partner will be, Miss Weasley! Ah, yes. Interesting. It appears Mr. Malfoy also answered every question correctly. I knew _your_ father too. He was in my house, you know. Very promising potion maker. Such a shame. Such a shame. Oh, well. Let's see how you get on with Miss Weasley, then."

Rose glanced over to Scorpius, noticing that his already pale skin had lost a few more shades of color. His eyes were fixed on the table in front of him but when he felt her eyes on him, he looked up. Noticing her curious gaze, he scowled in her direction, causing her to quickly turn away. Rose couldn't help but note that he obviously wasn't very friendly.

Slughorn quickly paired up the rest of the class, stopping to gush over Albus when he reached his name, asking after his _dear_ friend, Harry Potter, the Ministry's Head Auror. He then continued on, pausing briefly on Melinda's name to praise her_ inspirational_ father and, again, to mention how much Lorcan looked like his lovely mother, the _delightful_ Luna Lovegood. Once all of the partners had been assigned, he then instructed the class to open their books to the instructions for the Cure for Boils, a standard beginners' potion for first years, and to see what they could make of it.

* * *

Scorpius skimmed over the instructions for the potion, his mouth set in a firm line, as he sulked over Slughorn's comments. Of course the professor had to bring up his father. The man who had raised Scorpius was also the boy who had chosen the wrong side in the battle of good versus evil that had caused people like Rose and Albus's parents to be lauded as heroes, while _his_ family tree was looked upon as diseased. Scorpius loved his father. Draco had done his best to move past the events that had led to the fall of Voldemort all those years ago. While he was far from completely reformed, he had worked hard to ensure that his son turned out to be a better man than he had proven to be. Unfortunately, no one ever seemed to see that. They heard the name Malfoy and assumed that Scorpius would be just as cruel and judgmental as his father had acted during his time at Hogwarts; just as twisted as his Grandfather Lucius had been.

He had spent the night stuck in the dormitories with several of the children of his father's old school friends. They had assumed that he would agree with their derogatory comments and pureblood-centric viewpoints and so he had been forced to listen as they espoused the very ideals that his father had attempted to rid himself of. Unfortunately for Scorpius, he would never be able to feel comfortable with the children of the Death Eaters, and the children of Dumbledore's Army looked down on him for his family's past. So far, his Hogwarts experience had been less than welcoming. And now, he was stuck working with Rose Weasley, the daughter of two of those who had been most affected by the fight against the darkest wizard of all time. There was no way this could end well.

Rose was carefully setting her cauldron up between them, meticulously adjusting the flame to the precise height specified in the book. She glanced sideways at him. "You could start crushing up the snake fangs, you know."

"Aye-aye, Daisy," Scorpius quipped, along with a mock salute.

Rose frowned, delicate little lines appearing between her eyebrows at his sarcasm. "There's no need to be fresh. And my name is Rose."

Scorpius closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to push the thoughts of his father from his mind. Picking up the pestle, he began to work on creating a fine powder from the fangs, channeling a bit of his simmering rage into the task.

"I think they're ground up enough," Rose observed. "Do you want to add the correct measurement to the cauldron? It's…"

"Yes, I know. I can read, Tulip."

"My name is_ Rose._"

Scorpius snorted, picking up the mortar and measuring out the snake fangs while his partner watched him carefully.

"What's the matter, _Rosie_? Worried I'm going to screw up your grade?" Rose looked offended at his tone and Scorpius had the sense to feel slightly ashamed at the fact that he was taking his foul mood out on her.

The two continued to work in silence and then sat back to wait while the potion brewed. Scorpius kept his gaze focused on the bubbling cauldron but he could feel Rose's gaze wandering to him every few minutes. When it was time, he stood and added the horned slugs before turning to Rose in an attempt to be nicer, "You can add the porcupine quills if you want. Just make sure you remember to take the cauldron off of the fire first."

"Yes, thank you. I _can _read, you know," Rose responded sharply. So much for trying to be nice.

Scorpius just stepped back and gestured to the potion, indicating that she should proceed. Rose sniffed haughtily and flipped her hair over her shoulder before removing the cauldron from the flame and adding the quills. As she stirred, a fine pink mist began to rise from the potion, indicating their success.

"Oh well done, Miss Weasley!" Slughorn crowed, coming over to their table. "I expect great things from you, just like your mother! Be sure to bottle this up and place it on my desk for full marks." He then noticed Scorpius standing in front of him. "Oh, and Mr. Malfoy. Well done to you too, of course. It seems that you make a good team."

Scorpius smiled bitterly, siphoning some of the potion into a glass vial and inserting the stopper. As he stood to walk to Slughorn's desk, he accidentally knocked into Rose's bag, causing its contents to spill onto the floor.

Rose huffed in annoyance, mumbling insults under her breath as she bent to retrieve her belongings. Scorpius took a step forward with the intention of helping Rose but quickly withdrew when she shot him a look laden with venom. He shrugged insolently and proceeded to the front of the room to deposit the potion sample on the professor's desk. When he returned to his table, he suddenly tripped over something in his path, sending his lanky form sprawling across the floor. He flushed as his fall drew laughter from his classmates. Pulling himself to his feet, he looked behind him, searching for the obstruction, just in time to see Rose pull her foot back under the table with a satisfied smirk on her face. That bitch! Scorpius glared at her, his gaze promising retribution, before he settled himself beside her once more.

* * *

And thus began one of the most heated rivalries in all of Hogwarts's long and storied history. Unfortunately, things only escalated from there…

* * *

***The italicized text is quoted from ****_The Deathly Hallows_****, from the chapter "Nineteen Years Later."**

**And there's going to be a cute Ron/Hermione moment in the next chapter too, so stay tuned!**


	3. The Boiling Point

**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I thought it was really important to explain how Rose and Scorpius began their rivalry. In order for me to believe that they could actually hate each other, I need a solid foundation. And not an explanation that is based upon something too horrible to be forgiven, or one that is as simple as he's a Malfoy and she's a Weasley. Especially since I can't see Hermione Granger ever allowing a child of hers to judge someone based solely upon their last name. And I truly believe that Draco would want to raise a son who would be a better man than he was. Hopefully I wrote something that didn't make either one of them seem too irredeemably mean. Plus, that scenario gave them a misunderstanding to address later, which should be fun for me to write. Anyway, thank you for bearing with me while I set everything up.**

**Also, I went back and edited the previous chapter because I had a fun idea. I've been trying to come up with a nickname that Scorpius would use for Rose to annoy her. Unfortunately, the best I could come up with was 'Red,' because of her hair, but I _finally_ had a better idea. So from now on, he is going to call her the names of different kinds of flowers (except for the one she is actually named after, of course), which has the added bonus of making it more meaningful on the rare occasions when he gets her name right. I'm sorry that I had the idea after I had already published the last chapter, but I have gone back and changed it. If you don't feel like re-reading, he now calls her 'Daisy' and 'Tulip' instead of 'Red' during their first potions class. Sorry for any confusion, but I couldn't help it. I just felt like him calling her 'Red' wasn't enough to get Rose sufficiently pissed off.**

**So now the real action is starting! And the Ron/Hermione moment I promised is in the second section of this chapter (I just couldn't resist! They're so cute together!). As I said in the prologue, I'm going to attempt to post at least one chapter a week, my schedule permitting. The first three chapters have been pretty quick to come to me so here's hoping that will continue. I have almost the entire story arc mapped out, with a select few of the major scenes already written. It's just a matter of fleshing everything out. **

**Sorry for the ridiculously long Author's note, but them's the breaks! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy! And _please_ review! I honestly want to know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Boiling Point**

_Unfortunately, things only escalated from there..._

A few days later, Rose suddenly found her Transfiguration textbook levitating several feet above her head as she passed by the Charms classroom where the first year Slytherins were learning _Wingardium Leviosa._ The next morning, Scorpius was surprised by a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Self-Propelling Custard Pie in the face when he emerged from the fourth floor boys' lavatory. Two days after that, Rose was seen standing under a rain cloud, dripping wet, in the entrance to the Great Hall before dinner thanks to the Weasley's Weather in a Bottle that had mysteriously shattered at her feet. The next afternoon, Scorpius slipped on a stream of water that had inexplicably flooded the floor just as he walked past the corridor where Rose was emerging from having had to listen to Professor Binns drone on and on about the Goblin Rebellions in History of Magic. When he fell, Scorpius took down several angry students along with him, most notably his fellow Slytherins Augustus Goyle and Francis Zabini, who grumbled about "that mudblood bitch" while picking up their sopping books from the slippery stone floor. The following week in Herbology, Rose pulled on her dragon-hide gloves to find that some sort of viscous substance had been poured into them, causing thick red hair to sprout all over her hands. This time, she waited an entire week to retaliate, switching Scorpius's telescope with an enchanted one so that, when he emerged from Astronomy class, he was stuck walking around with a black eye for several days until Madam Pomfrey was able to get her hands on a jar of the Weasley twins' Bruise Removal Paste.

One month into the school year, Slughorn was forced to renege on his promise that the partnerships for potions were permanent. Exasperated with the increasingly destructive antics of Rose and Scorpius, he finally snapped and switched Rose to work with Ava Mathenson, a fellow Gryffindor, forcing Scorpius to be paired with Albus. Scorpius did not see this as much of an improvement but decided to make the best of it. Of course, he and Rose could not resist sending the occasional jinx across the room at one another when Slughorn wasn't looking. They continued on in this vein, pulling relatively harmless pranks and generally making nuisances of themselves for the first three and a half years of their time Hogwarts.

* * *

When the winter holidays rolled around during her fourth year, however, something happened that caused Rose's anger towards all things Malfoy to increase considerably. McGonagall had sent yet another letter home to her parents, detailing the various confrontations that had been taking place between their daughter and Draco Malfoy's son. Hermione scolded her firmly, stressing the importance of concentrating on her classes since OWLs were just over a year away. Ron had said little, standing off to the side, nodding in support of his wife as she attempted to talk some sense into their eldest child.

That night, Rose had found it difficult to sleep. She decided to sneak down the stairs for a snack and a cup of tea to sip on while she read the latest muggle novel her mother had recommended. When she got to the first floor, she heard voices coming from the living room and paused at the threshold, peeking through the crack in the doorway to where her parents were having what appeared to be a rather heated discussion.

"She's just like her mother," Rose heard her father say proudly. "Giving the git a taste of his own medicine. Or do you forget the time that _you_ punched Malfoy in the face?"

"Yes, but that was Draco. And you know he deserved it. This is Scorpius. For all we know he may be nothing like his father."

"Oh come on, Hermione. Rosie's a good girl. She wouldn't be doing this kind of thing if she wasn't provoked. You know that."

"You did tell her to beat him at everything, you know," Hermione reminded him.

"In schoolwork, yeah," Ron scoffed. "I'm sure the other stuff's justified as well. More than likely, he's a slimy coward just like his father. Just like the rest of the Malfoy family."

"Ron, the war has been over for years. Maybe you should try and move on. Forgive and forget? I know Harry doesn't hold what happened against Draco anymore."

"Harry didn't have to listen helplessly to the screams of the woman he was _completely in love with_ while that crazy_ bitch_ tortured you. Do you have any idea what that did to me? Hearing that? Having to watch as she held a knife to your goddamn throat?! Knowing that I couldn't do anything to help you? And _Draco_," he spat. "Draco just stood there, letting it happen. Bloody hell, 'Mione, when he took our wands he as good as _helped_ it happen."

"What did you want him to do, Ron?" Hermione asked softly, laying her hand on his cheek. "He was a terrified seventeen year old boy whose entire family was telling him that his only choice was to do what Voldomort said. If he had disobeyed, he would have been killed. His whole family probably would have been killed. Do you honestly believe that anyone would have behaved differently in that situation?"

"After everything he did, I still helped save his life twice in one bloody day. I think that's enough kindness on my part, don't you? And if Malfoy's son is anything like his father was at that age, I'm damn proud of Rosie doing everything she can to make his life difficult."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione sighed, a slight smile in her voice. "What am I going to do with you?"

Ron grinned wickedly. "I've got a few ideas."

Rose heard her mother shriek as Ron grabbed her around the waist, hauling her over his shoulder and heading towards the stairs that led to the master bedroom. She was left to contemplate her father's words, her ire at the Malfoy family increasing with each subsequent thought.

* * *

The animosity between Rose and Scorpius continued to intensify after they returned to school in January, their juvenile pranks against one another deteriorating into blatant attacks, both magical and physical, and the other students at Hogwarts gradually acclimated themselves to the fact that there was a war being waged at all times. In fact, during lengthy periods of calm, some whispers could be heard speculating on just what Weasley and Malfoy were plotting now.

The pair became regular guests in detention and were frequently forced to take trips to McGonagall's office for a 'talking to.' All of the Slytherins grew to hate Rose, and all of the Gryffindors to hate Scorpius, due to the truly impressive number of points that they caused to be deducted from their respective houses. It got to the point that frequent requests were submitted to the headmistress, begging that _those two_ no longer be included in the tallies for the House Cup.

Filch could be heard cursing them at steady intervals, muttering to the latest incarnation of Mrs. Norris about the various medieval tortures he would love to be able to subject them to. Some of his ideas were impressively creative. They practically had their own beds dedicated to them in the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey referred to them simply as "the reason I need to retire." Everyone got used to the idea that Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy hated each other with a passion and always would. Quidditch matches between Slytherin and Gryffindor became tense grudge-matches, the spectators paying more attention to the two beaters sending Bludgers back and forth at one another for the majority of the game than to the actual play taking place on the pitch. The school fell into a comfortable pattern of respecting the rivalry and carefully avoiding anything that could possibly cause it to escalate even further.

This attitude of benign neglect, with a detention or two thrown in for good measure, worked well for everyone, that is until Horace Slughorn decided to retire at the end of Rose and Scorpius's fifth year and Charity Platt took over as Potions Master.

* * *

Sixth year started off pretty quietly for Rose and Scorpius. They had both matured since first year and had been berated into paying closer attention to their studies when the results of their OWLs arrived and neither one of them received the number of O's that had been expected by their parents. Because of this, by the time they returned to Hogwarts in the fall, they had resolved, individually, to limit the _incidents_ that had a tendency to arise between them. Although they never failed to take advantage if an opportunity presented itself, they did not attempt to actively seek one another out. This fact, in conjunction with friends and teachers who did their very best to keep the mortal enemies separated, caused the violent interactions between the two to plunge in frequency when compared to earlier years. Of course, this did not mean that their fellow occupants of Hogwarts were not always on the lookout for trouble.

Unfortunately, no one thought it prudent to sufficiently brief Charity Platt on the full extent of the animosity between the pair. It had been mentioned to her at the beginning of the school year that they should always be carefully observed whenever they were anywhere near one another but she was unaware of just how ugly things could get. In fact, even if she _had_ been properly informed, it was doubtful that she would have believed it. Due, in part, to the fact that the _incidents_ had calmed during her first semester at Hogwarts, she continued on, blissfully oblivious to the dangers that partnering Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy together would inevitably create.

Because they were now in NEWT level Potions, Professor Platt believed that her students were mature enough to work with partners of their choosing when the potion required more than two hands. This meant that Rose nearly always chose to work with Melinda or Ava. Scorpius usually paired up with Albus, a tradition that had continued since Slughorn's reorganization of the partnerships in their first year. Despite Rose's objections, Albus had developed a casual sort of friendship with her Slytherin nemesis and they found that they worked well together. This arrangement functioned nicely for everyone, with the added bonus of Albus ensuring that he and Scorpius always set up their cauldron on the opposite side of the classroom from Rose, so as to avoid any temptation the two may have to misbehave. And, of course, since Rose _liked_ Albus, she was unlikely to attack Scorpius for fear of catching her cousin in the crossfire.

When everyone returned from the winter holidays, however, Professor Platt had decided that she was going to mix things up. She declared that, as NEWT students, they should be able to adjust to working with various partners. Whenever they began learning how to brew a new potion, she would randomly select who would be paired with who. And on a fateful day in early March, she paired Rose Weasley with Scorpius Malfoy.

When she announced the partnerships, the rest of the students collectively tensed, an uneasy murmur rippling through the class. They glanced nervously at one another, each wondering if they should say something. No one did.

Rose and Scorpius locked eyes across the classroom, their mouths set in firm lines, resigned to the fact that they would have to work together for the first time in over five years. "Are you going to behave, or should I talk to the professor?" Albus whispered in his cousin's ear.

"I am perfectly capable of acting like an adult, thank you very much," Rose responded, not taking her eyes from Scorpius's. She noted the slight smirk forming at the corner of his mouth and raised her eyebrow haughtily at him.

Albus sighed. "Just please try not to kill one another, Rose, or at least avoid killing everyone else. I'd really like to be alive for the Quidditch match on Saturday. Not to mention the date I have with Helena Figg afterwards."

Rose finally pulled her gaze from Scorpius's, turning to pat Albus reassuringly on the hand. "I promise not to start anything, Al. Okay?"

"I notice you haven't promised not to finish anything, though, Rosie."

"Well you can't expect me not to defend myself," she stated calmly as she picked up her things and proceeded across the room to her partner.

Albus closed his eyes and shook his head solemnly. This was not going to end well. He could feel it. "Sorry, Helena. Merlin knows I tried," he mumbled under his breath as he motioned to Nathaniel Wood, his assigned partner, to stay where he was and gathered up his own supplies. If Rose and Scorpius were working together, Albus was going to work as far away from the inevitable carnage as was humanly possible.

* * *

"You will be brewing the Draught of Living Death today. It is a very tricky potion, which requires extreme precision and meticulous attention to detail," Professor Platt informed her students. "Please look over the instructions carefully before beginning. Good luck."

After glancing over the directions in his copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_, Scorpius picked up a Sopophorous bean and began attempting to cut it so that he could extract its juice.

Rose bit her lip, debating whether or not to say anything and finally deciding that, since it was her grade too, she should speak up. "You should crush it."

Scorpius glanced up sharply. "What?"

"Crush the bean, don't cut it. You get more juice that way. Plus it's much easier," she informed him.

"It says to cut it," he argued, looking back down at his book.

"Yes, I know, but my Uncle Harry says to crush it. Apparently it was a discovery made by Severus Snape."

"No offense to the great Harry Potter, Chrysanthemum, but I think I'm just going to follow along with what the book says to do."

"But—"

"Why don't you just concentrate on getting the water ready and let me handle this," Scorpius interrupted.

Rose huffed angrily and measured out the water and African sea salt into a beaker, setting it aside to sit for five minutes while Scorpius continued to struggle with the Sopophorous bean. She couldn't help rolling her eyes at his obstinacy.

When he had finally succeeded in extracting the juice from the bean, Rose spoke up. "Can you cut up the Valerian root now?"

"Is there a reason you're not doing anything?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "In about thirty seconds, I'm going to pour the water into the cauldron and then put in the wormwood essence."

"Fine, _I'll_ take care of the Valerian root," Scorpius scoffed. "I'm not sure I'd trust you with the knife anyway, Orchid."

Fuming, Rose emptied the beaker of salt water into the cauldron before measuring out the wormwood essence and tilting the pewter bowl so that she could add it to the potion. She reached over and snatched the Sopophorous bean from in front of Scorpius, separating out the juice and pouring it into the cauldron. Once he had carefully added the requisite number of drops of reduced liquid from the beaker containing the Valerian root, Rose picked up the stirring stick and began furiously mixing the potion together.

Unfortunately, in her anger at Scorpius, she was not careful enough and began stirring far too fast. Scorpius began to protest, but she shot him a look so full of contempt that he was struck silent, watching helplessly as the potion's color passed the soft lilac shade it was supposed to be turning and progressed straight to a bright, phosphorescent purple. Frustrated, Scorpius reached out and grabbed Rose's wrist in an attempt to stop her. She tried to pull her arm away from him but only succeeded in jerking his elbow forward so that it slammed into the lip of the cauldron, causing the simmering pot to overturn. The potion hissed and spit as it spilled across the table and onto the floor, eating its way through everything in its path. It quickly disintegrated the bottoms of a few book bags as it slithered across the stone floor, eroding the wood of the table legs and burning through the soles of several students' shoes.

Rose and Scorpius watched in horror as their fellow students began screaming in pain, momentarily forgetting the burns that were forming on their own skin, where the potion had splattered on its way to the floor.

Albus and Nathaniel were tasked with helping the wounded to the hospital wing as they alone had managed to walk away uninjured, thanks to Albus's foresight. The table where he had been sitting previously was not so lucky. Its legs had been melted down to stubs and it was currently smoking, along with a great many objects that had been touching the floor and now numbered among the casualties. All totaled, the little mishap landed seven people, including Rose, Scorpius, and Professor Platt, in the hospital wing with moderate to severe burns.

McGonagall was not amused. She sentenced them both to detention that evening in the dungeon, after their burns had been sufficiently healed, where they would be expected to repair all of the destruction that their "little snit" had done to the potions classroom. Needless to say, the damage was significant.

* * *

Their detention was supervised by Professor Platt, who sat in the corner watching them warily, as if she expected them to suddenly sprout fangs and a tail and attack. After a few hours of Rose and Scorpius working in silence, she began to relax. By the time nine o'clock rolled around, the poor professor looked exhausted. She had experienced a very trying day and was beginning to come down from the shock of her injuries, and the events that had caused them. Finally, shortly after half past ten, she stood.

"If I leave the two of you here to finish up, do you think you will be able to keep from attempting to kill each other? I would very much like to go to bed and I think you owe it to me to allow me to do so," she stated calmly, eyeing the two students humorlessly.

"Yes, professor," they answered in unison. They both truly did feel bad for the trouble they had caused her. Their actions against one another were never intended to harm innocent bystanders and they always felt genuine remorse if someone got caught in the fallout.

Professor Platt shuffled out of the dungeon, stifling a yawn. Rose and Scorpius shared a glance before resuming their efforts to restore the classroom to its pre-_incident_ state. They had started on opposite ends of the room and were slowly making their way towards the center. As they got closer and closer to one another, Rose began to feel the tension that always crackled between them whenever they got too near to each other. The silence was beginning to feel oppressive.

"You know, none of this would have happened if you had just listened to me about the Sopophorous bean," Rose told him, softly.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "No, none of this would have happened if you could handle relinquishing control of something for even a minute. Or if you were capable of controlling your temper."

Rose glared at him. "Or if you were willing to compromise even a little?" she snapped.

"See, Iris? You're just proving my point. Temper, temper, temper," Scorpius smirked.

Rose let out a little scream of annoyance and moved to storm out of the room. Scorpius reached out and grabbed ahold of her elbow to stop her. Simmering with rage, Rose clenched her fingers into a fist, swinging them as hard as she could towards his face, but was brought up short as he caught her hand before she could connect. Damn his reflexes!

She raised her other hand to slap him, but he grabbed ahold of that too. In a split second, Rose found her arms wrenched behind her and pinned against the small of her back, both wrists contained in one of Scorpius's large hands. She jerked her head forward in an attempt to sink her teeth into the sensitive skin of his throat but he plunged his free hand into her unruly scarlet curls, yanking her head back. Their gazes locked as they both struggled for breath. Rose writhed, trying to break his hold on her but he merely pressed his body closer to hers to still her movements, causing their chests to bump against one another with each ragged inhalation. Scorpius's eyes were dark with an emotion Rose could not identify, his irises reduced to a thin ring of molten steel encircling the black depths of his pupils. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the intensity of his gaze. She cocked her head, her eyes flashing in challenge as she attempted to decipher his expression.

Scorpius frowned down at her, a low rumble sounding in the back of his throat. "Damnit, Rose," he growled before crushing his mouth to hers.

For a moment she froze, too stunned to react. Then, she began to struggle against him. He merely tightened his hold and bit down on her bottom lip in warning. He swallowed her shocked gasp, using the opportunity to thrust his tongue through her now parted lips. In spite of herself, Rose began to sink into the kiss and, this time, when she tried to free her arms, he released her.

Rose placed her hands on his shoulders, intending to shove him away, but when he made a small noise of protest in the back of his throat, she somehow found herself wrapping them around him instead. She slanted her mouth over his, the change in angle sending a jolt through her system. Scorpius felt it too, if the catch in his breath was any indication. His tongue swept over hers and her fingers found their way to the soft blonde hair at the base of his neck.

Scorpius's right hand slid down Rose's body and under her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her waist. She leaned into his touch, tilting her head back to give him more room as his mouth moved on from hers and began to travel down her throat. She shuddered as he scraped his teeth over the slope of her neck, nipping his way down the slender column. As he soothed each bite with a flick of his tongue, she moaned, long and low. The sound seemed to startle him back to reality and he jumped back as if he had been burned.

They both stood, cheeks flushed and chests heaving, their gazes locked and their eyes wide. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but immediately closed it again at the look of panic that flashed across Rose's face. She shook her head and averted her eyes, grabbing ahold of her bag and practically sprinting out of the room. Scorpius was left to stare after her in shock and confusion, wondering what the hell had just happened.

* * *

**Those pranks at the beginning were _so_ much fun to come up with! **

**Also, I've decided that at the end of each chapter, I'm going to give you the title of the next one, just to whet your appetites a bit. So...drum roll please!...the next chapter is called "An Unlikely Rescue." It should be posted within the next few days, depending upon when I actually finish writing it. Thanks so much for reading! Hope to see you next time!**


	4. An Unlikely Rescue

**Author's note: Here's the next chapter. I really have been on a roll, which I hope to continue, but I cannot promise that I'll always be able to turn out a chapter every couple of days. If only. To those of you who have reviewed, thank you so, _so_ much! Your support is _great_ motivation!**

**Just a little disclaimer...This story is rated M for good reason. There will be some cursing, plenty of violence, and lots of smut. If that is not your thing, I apologize but that's just the way I feel this story needs to be written.**

**That being said, this is a pretty intense chapter so I really hope you enjoy it. ****_Please_**** review! **

* * *

**Chapter 3: An Unlikely Rescue**

Rose rushed down the dungeon corridor trying to figure out exactly what she had just done. She had kissed Scorpius Malfoy. _Scorpius Bloody Malfoy,_ for Merlin's sake! How the_ hell _had that happened?! She must have gone momentarily insane. Or maybe the burn cream Madam Pomfrey had used had given her some sort of strange side effects. That must be it. She was having a bad reaction to medication. Why else would she have even allowed _Scorpius Malfoy_ to kiss her, let alone kiss him back?

Because she _had_ kissed him back. She had most definitely kissed him back. But she hadn't wanted to. He had forced her.

Oh, who was she kidding? As soon as she had gotten over the shock of the fact that his mouth was attached to hers, she had wanted nothing more than to give just as good as she was getting. Merlin, that boy could kiss. She had known that he had a quick tongue when it came to insulting her, but who could have predicted just how well he could use it in other ways. Most of the bloody girls at Hogwarts, probably. Not that she cared. Because she definitely didn't.

Oh, she was in trouble.

The skin of her waist still tingled from his touch. Just thinking about the way his hand had felt against her bare skin sent a shiver down her spine and caused her stomach muscles to clench deliciously. And his mouth. She could still feel it on hers. If she dared to lick her lips, she was sure that she would be able to bring back his taste. Spicy, alluring, dangerous. So very, very, dangerous.

Feeling winded, Rose stopped, leaning against the nearest wall and placing her hands on her knees in an attempt to regulate her breathing. Once she had regained some semblance of control, she straightened, looking around her to get her bearings. In her haste to escape the potions room, and the boy inside, she had taken a wrong turn, heading away from the stairwell that would take her up the seven floors to Gryffindor Tower. After carefully observing her surroundings, Rose realized that she had inadvertently wandered in the direction of the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. Great, with her luck Malfoy would be coming in this direction any minute now. She needed to get out of there. She was in no condition to go another round with him at the moment, no matter what that round might entail. Now she just had to figure out exactly how to get back to where she should be.

Rose closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself. She struggled to recall which turns she had made in her mad dash down the corridor but found that she had next to no memory of how she had gotten here. No matter. She had seen the Marauder's Map enough times while pulling pranks with her cousins to know the castle's layout almost as well as the mischief-makers who had drawn it. She just needed to head back the way she had come, make two lefts and a right, and go up the staircase that was concealed behind the tapestry of the young girl braiding daisies into the hair of her mule. Now if she could only manage to avoid—

"Well, well, well. It seems I've caught a weasel."

Rose stiffened, her eyes popping open at the sound of the voice interrupting her thoughts. Only it didn't belong to the tall, blonde Slytherin she had been expecting it to. Instead, standing in front of her, a nasty grin splitting his round yet sinister face, was Augustus Goyle.

She jumped forward from her position against the wall and calculated how best to move around his hulking form. As she moved to walk past him, his arm shot out and stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Rose made a grab for her wand, but he had surprisingly quick reflexes for such an ape-like person. She gasped as he twisted her fingers violently, causing her wand to fly out of her hand and skid across the floor and out of reach. She tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp but he merely tightened his grip, causing her to cry out in pain. He caught her left wrist in his other hand as she tried to hit him, forcing her backwards and slamming her spine into the hard, stone wall, knocking the wind out of her.

"Let me go." She wanted to sound commanding, but her voice came out more like a whimper as he pressed himself against her. He merely chuckled ominously, rolling his hips forward into hers.

Rose recognized the dark emotion in his mud-brown eyes as undisguised lust and it sent a shiver down her spine, but it was an entirely separate feeling from the chills she had gotten when Scorpius had fixed her with a similar look. Goyle's expression was a very different kind of dangerous. She struggled against him but he had her effectively pinned by his much larger bulk, his solid chest and arms preventing any means of escape.

He yanked her wrists above her head and bracketed them with one of his meaty paws. The other hand slid down her body, pausing to grope at her chest. When she continued to fight him, he quickly jabbed his fist into her ribcage, knocking the wind out of her.

"Stand still and take it, Mudblood."

He leaned back slightly to give himself better access and she used the opportunity to thrust her knee upwards, with as much force as she could manage, towards his groin. Unfortunately, her current position didn't allow much leverage and she only succeeded in hitting his muscular thigh.

"Little blood-traitor bitch!" he hissed, removing his hand from her breast long enough to slam his fist into the side of her face twice in rapid succession, causing her head to crash into the wall behind her, rattling her skull and momentarily stunning her. Pain flooded through her, clouding her vision. She was vaguely aware of him resuming his groping and somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the sour stench of his breath as he began to pant excitedly.

She thought she heard a yell. She wasn't sure if the sound came from her, Goyle, or someone else, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Suddenly, the burly body pressed against her disappeared and Rose slid bonelessly to the floor. Her head was spinning, the entire left side of her face was throbbing, her right hand was clearly broken, and her ribs were aching but she somehow forced her eyes to open, knowing that she needed to find her wand before Goyle came back. She began mindlessly fumbling along the floor in search of the familiar shape, only to cry out in despair as a hand closed over hers.

* * *

What the hell had just happened? Scorpius shook his head, attempting to get his thoughts in order. His brain was still foggy from that kiss. Merlin, that kiss. He wasn't even sure how it had happened. One minute, he was restraining her so that she couldn't hit him or bite him and the next, he was sinking his own teeth into her bottom lip in a manner that conveyed an entirely different type of aggression. How had he gotten from pissed off to turned on that quickly?

And it was Rose Weasley. _Rose Bloody Weasley_. He wasn't even attracted to her. Well sure, she was definitely an attractive girl, but there was no way that he wanted her like _that_. But then he had had his arms wrapped around her, with her body pressed to his and her eyes gleaming with defiance, and he just couldn't stop himself.

Scorpius rubbed his lips together as if to seal in her flavor. She had tasted surprisingly sweet, with an underlying level of the spice he would have expected. Not that he had spent much time imagining what she would taste like. No time, in fact. But then he had been so fascinated with that initial crash of his lips to hers that he had very nearly panicked when she had tried to pull away from him. In that split-second, he would have done almost anything to keep her mouth on his.

And when she had started to kiss him back? Who knew Rose Weasley could kiss like that? After her initial hesitation, she had thrown herself into him completely. He could still feel the tingle running down his spine at the thought of the sparks that she had shot through him when she had slanted her mouth over his and let her tongue out to play.

And her skin had been so ridiculously soft. And warm. So warm. And then she had moaned, and it was like reality had come crashing down on top of them. He had been kissing Rose Weasley. They hated each other. They routinely caused one another bodily harm, whether that was their original intention or not. What the hell had they been thinking? Well, that was the problem. They clearly hadn't been. Or at least he hadn't. The second his lips touched hers, his brain had just ceased to function.

He felt another jolt of lust rush through him as remembered how she had looked, staring up at him after he had released her. Her chest heaving, hair wild, lips swollen from his kisses, her eyes darkened to midnight blue with want and her brow furrowed in confusion.

Oh, he was in trouble.

Scorpius closed his eyes and rubbed a hand down his face. He was suddenly very, very tired. Maybe that was the problem. He had been exhausted, it had been a long day, and Rose was just _there_. He needed to go to bed. Sleep off whatever the cause of his momentary insanity may have been.

Taking one last glance around the potions classroom to make sure that everything was passably restored to normal, Scorpius left the room and began heading down the dungeon corridor toward the Slytherin dormitories, still lost in his thoughts.

As he neared the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, a sound broke through his dazed frame of mind. It sounded like a pained scream. He paused to listen.

"Little blood-traitor bitch!" a male voice shouted, followed by the crushing thud of a fist hitting bone and another pained cry, this one softer than the first.

Scorpius dashed around the corner, stopping short at the sight before him. Rose's face was turned away from him, but there was no mistaking that hair. Augustus Goyle had her pinned up against the wall, his hands attempting to free her breasts from her robes. She looked like she was fighting for consciousness and Scorpius felt a blind rage fill him as he heard Goyle's breathy chuckle.

Without thinking, Scorpius raised his wand. "_Petrificus Totalus!"_

Goyle's body snapped into a rigid column before he toppled over, crashing skull first into the floor at Rose's feet. As Scorpius hurried towards them, Rose slid to the ground, apparently unable to support her own weight any longer. She seemed to fight to gather her strength, as she immediately began feeling around the uneven stone beneath her. She was clearly in a lot of pain and he was sure she would be going into shock at any moment. Kicking Goyle's prone form unceremoniously out of the way, Scorpius leaned over and gently laid his hand over hers to stop her movement.

* * *

At the feel of a hand closing around hers, Rose curled up in the fetal position and waited for more pain to come. It never did. Instead, she felt someone touch her shoulder gently.

"Rose."

At the familiar voice, Rose opened her eyes. Scorpius's face was hovering inches from hers. She could see the cold fury in his steely gaze and closed her eyes again, expecting the worst.

"Rose," he repeated. "It's okay. He's gone. You're safe." She looked back up at him, confused at the tender tone of his voice. She was sure she must have been hallucinating, because she could have sworn that there was concern etched across his features. He reached down and brushed the hair from her eyes, his expression hardening at the sight of the bruise forming along her cheekbone and the split lip that was already swelling.

"Scorpius," she whispered, somehow trusting that he wouldn't hurt her, despite all of the things they had put one another through over the years.

She exhaled shakily as he stroked a finger down her cheek. "Can you stand?"

She nodded, the action sending a jolt of pain through her skull. At her moan, Scorpius's eyes narrowed dangerously. He took a deep breath before reaching his hands out to support her as she struggled to rise.

Once she was on her feet, he leaned her against the wall and looked her up and down, taking stock of her injuries. There were red marks around her wrists—which he was sure would soon darken into bruises—she had a hand pressed to her ribcage, her robes were torn, and her face was a mess. He felt a surge of anger at what had been done to her and thanked whatever deity might be listening that he had gotten there in time to stop any more damage from being done.

"Just stay here for a second okay? I'll be right back."

She whimpered as he released his hold on her arms and the warmth of his body disappeared. "Scor."

"I'm right here, Rose," he called out from a few yards away. "I'll be right back. I just have to move him out of the way."

She kept her eyes closed, trying to get the pain under control until she felt his presence again. She looked up when she felt him touch her, tilting her chin so that he could search her face.

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing." He wrapped an arm around her waist to support her and moved to steer her in that direction.

"No," she stated firmly, pulling away from him. "No hospital wing."

"Rose, you need to get checked out. You've got some pretty serious injuries."

"No. I just want to go to Gryffindor Tower."

"Rose—"

"Please, Scorpius. I really don't want to get poked and prodded right now. I just want to go to sleep." She looked up at him, her deep blue eyes imploring. _"Please?"_

Scorpius sighed and shook his head in defeat. He didn't have the heart to fight with her right now. Not when she looked like she had just been through a war. He wasn't used to seeing her this beaten down. Even after the most violent of their _incidents_, there had always been a fiery defiance in her gaze. She was a sight to behold when he got her riled up but now, she had a vacant expression on her face, as if she just couldn't handle anything else being thrown at her. She needed to see Madam Pomfrey so that she could be healed but Scorpius just couldn't bring himself to force it at the moment. He would let her family argue with her once he got her up to the common room.

"Okay. I'll take you to your common room. Seventh floor, right? Behind the portrait of the Fat Lady?"

"I can get there on my own," she protested. "You don't have to—"

"You can barely stand. There's no way I'm letting you walk up seven flights of stairs by yourself, Rose," he interrupted.

She looked like she was about to argue, then merely shrugged. She turned and began to walk away from him, her movements stiff and slow. Scorpius let out an exasperated breath at her stubbornness, stooping to pick up her wand from the floor before following her down the corridor.

* * *

Rose made it up nearly two flights of stairs before she stopped, leaning heavily on the railing, her breathing labored and her eyes shut tight against the pain.

"Rose?"

"I'm fine. Just give me a second," she gasped, sliding herself down until she was seated on the marble tread.

Scorpius crouched beside her, his gaze searching her face once again. He obviously didn't like what he saw. "Okay, that's it. I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"No! I'm fine."

"Rose, you're still in shock, you're well past exhausted, and you're clearly in pain. You have to let me take you to Madam Pomfrey."

She shook her head obstinately, causing him to let out a frustrated growl. "Fine." He slid one arm under her knees and the other around her waist, trying to gently hoist her into the air.

"No! Scorpius—"

"Don't worry, I'm taking you to Gryffindor Tower. I'll let someone else bully you into getting medical attention."

"Put me down. I can walk."

"Like hell you can," he snapped at her. "Either you let me carry you up the remaining _five_ bloody flights of stairs, or I take you to the hospital wing. It's up to you."

She slumped against his chest. "Fine."

"Good." Scorpius carefully repositioned her weight, trying not to jostle her too badly as he adjusted his grip, before starting the climb up to the seventh floor.

* * *

Somewhere between floors five and six, Scorpius felt Rose's breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep with her head resting against his shoulder and her hair tickling his neck. She looked so peaceful that he just couldn't bring himself to wake her, even when they reached the Gryffindor portrait hole and the Fat Lady raised her eyebrow at him and demanded the password. He resolved to wait until someone came along to let him in. Knowing the propensity of the Gryffindor students to be out of bed after curfew, the chances of that happening sooner rather than later were pretty high. Especially considering the sheer volume of pranks pulled on a regular basis by the Weasley/Potter clan. Clutching Rose's sleeping form tightly against his chest, he carefully slid down the wall beside the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and settled down to wait, with Rose cradled in his lap.

Finally, about twenty minutes later, Scorpius heard hushed voices coming down the corridor. "Don't get me wrong, the map's great and all, but don't you think you could have grabbed the Invisibility Cloak too while you were digging around through your dad's desk drawers?"

"Well I would have, but he'd be more likely to miss _that_ than he would an old piece of parchment, wouldn't he, Fred? Besides, he uses the cloak for work sometimes. He doesn't need an enchanted map of Hogwarts anymore."

Scorpius recognized those voices. They were Rose's cousins, James and Fred. He felt a sudden jolt of panic. Until this moment, he hadn't taken the time to consider what her family would automatically assume when they saw him with his arms around a broken and battered Rose. Oh well, it was too late now. They were about to round the corner. All he could do was hope that they wouldn't _Avada_ first, ask questions later.

"Still, it would be an awfully useful thing to have. Then we could stick around and see the look on Filch's face when that thing goes off."

"Yeah, it _would_ be great fun. Until dad popped in and took it right back, along with the map and then we'd have nothing," interrupted a third voice that Scorpius recognized as belonging to Albus. He exhaled in relief, knowing that at least one of the three would be open to listening to reason.

The two Potters and a Weasley came into view, dressed all in black robes. They had clearly just come from setting up some sort of prank. "How long d'you reckon it'll take Filch to get the stains out of—"

James trailed off as the three of them finally took notice of the Slytherin seated beside the portrait hole before focusing in on the beaten girl in his arms. Fred and James instantly raised their wands, pointing them at Scorpius's head while Albus stared in shock.

"_Easy_," Scorpius cautioned.

"What the fuck did you do to her, Malfoy?" James demanded.

"If I was the one who did this, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to stay here until you came along to kill me for it?" Scorpius asked him, his voice calm and level in spite of the surge of adrenaline he was currently experiencing.

"He has a point, James," Albus stated evenly. "That would be suicide."

James's chocolate brown eyes flicked towards his brother, then on to Fred, but his wand stayed trained on Scorpius. "Explain, Malfoy."

Scorpius decided to give them the shortest version possible. He spoke quickly and quietly, trying not to disturb Rose. "Rose and I were in detention. She finished up before me and when I was on my way back to the Slytherin Common Room, I heard her scream. I found Goyle trying to force himself on her. I stopped him and tried to take her to the hospital wing but she's so bloody stubborn and she wanted to come here. She's in pretty bad shape, though, so I ended up having to carry her. And she's exhausted so of course she fell asleep, but I didn't want to wake her for the password so I figured I'd just wait."

James and Fred had lowered their wands during his explanation and all three Weasley/Potters now had their eyes narrowed in fury. "Any chance of you letting us into the Slytherin dorm so that we can take care of Goyle?" Fred snarled.

"No need. I didn't want to have to worry about him before making sure that Rose was taken care of so I just hit him with a full-body bind curse and stuck him in a broom closet. He should be safe there for another day or so, whenever you decide to deal with him."

James and Fred both looked mildly impressed, but Albus immediately centered his attention on Rose, who had begun to stir.

* * *

"Rosie?" Albus murmured tentatively.

Rose's eyes fluttered open and she raised her head off of Scorpius's chest. For a moment, her gaze darted around her as she tried to orient herself. When she shifted her weight, however, a sharp pain shot through her ribcage, causing her to gasp.

"Careful," Scorpius cautioned her. "You're pretty banged up."

"Yeah," she breathed, tiredly.

"How are you feeling, Rose?" James asked her, crouching down beside Scorpius and examining the angry bruising on her face.

"I'm fine." She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Scorpius, exhausted.

"I'd say far from it," Albus argued. "We need to get you to see Madam Pomfrey."

"No. I just want to go to sleep. I'll be fine," Rose insisted.

"Rose, you have to go to the hospital wing," Fred interrupted.

"Not right now. Please?" she begged, looking up at her three concerned cousins. "I'll go tomorrow. I just really want to sleep in my own bed without anyone poking at me every few hours. _Please?"_

Fred, Albus, and James exchanged an exasperated glance but it was Scorpius who spoke up. "Alright, you can sleep in your own bed tonight. You just have to promise that you'll go to the hospital wing first thing tomorrow morning. Deal?" he asked her, leaning his head down so that their eyes were level.

She nodded enthusiastically, wincing with the motion. "Deal."

"Okay," Scorpius agreed. "Let's get you inside." He slowly pushed to his feet, still cradling Rose in his arms.

He walked over to the portrait hole and stood, waiting for someone to open it for him. Finally, he turned his head towards where Rose's cousins were watching him with confused expressions on their faces. "Well, is anyone going to bother to say the password?"

Albus started, hurrying over to the Fat Lady and quickly mumbling, "Snargaluff Pods." The portrait swung open, revealing the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Scorpius carefully stepped over the threshold, followed by the Weasley/Potters, and stood uncertainly just inside the portrait hole. Thankfully, the common room was nearly empty. There were only a handful of people scattered around the various tables and armchairs, finishing up homework or chatting quietly. Rose's younger brother, Hugo was in a corner talking to one of his fellow fourth years, but stood abruptly when Scorpius entered the room carrying his sister.

A stern glance from Fred and James had everyone who was not within the immediate Weasley family circle jumping to their feet and hurriedly climbing the stairs to their respective dormitories. As soon as the room had emptied, Hugo, Melinda Longbottom, and Lorcan Scamander all raced over to Rose.

"What happened?" Hugo demanded, while looking suspiciously at Scorpius.

"Goyle," James spat.

"For once, it wasn't this prat," Albus informed him, gesturing to the tall Slytherin beside him.

"She needs to go to the hospital wing," Melinda spoke up.

"No, no hospital," Rose whispered, her face still cuddled into Scorpius's shoulder.

"She's promised to go first thing tomorrow morning if we don't drag her down there tonight," Scorpius told the concerned girl.

"Mmm," Rose confirmed. "Want sleep."

Melinda sighed, unhappily. "Alright." She ran a hand over her face. "Boys can't go up to the girls' dorm so I'm going to have to get her up there." Leaning over her friend, she quietly asked, "Rose, sweetheart, do you think you can walk up the stairs? I'm not sure I trust myself to levitate you while you're hurt."

"Yeah."

"Okay." Melinda looked up at Scorpius, expectantly.

He gingerly lowered Rose's legs to the floor, steadying her as she swayed on her feet. Melinda quickly wrapped her arm around Rose's waist, supporting her weight.

"Watch her ribs," Scorpius cautioned her, causing everyone to look at him strangely.

When Hugo stepped forward anxiously, Melinda smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of her." Hugo nodded, his eyes riveted on his sister's face as Melinda gently guided her friend towards their dormitory. The two girls slowly made their way up the stairs and out of sight.

When they had gone, Hugo turned to his cousins. "You said Goyle did this?"

"Yeah," Scorpius answered for them. "I found him trying to—"

"Where is he?" Hugo asked, his voice far too quiet.

"Broom closet by the Slytherin Common Room."

James smiled evilly. "What do you say to a little late night trip, boys?"

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! As promised, the title for the next chapter is..."Bruises Fade." Hope to see you next time!**


	5. Bruises Fade

**Author's Note: And I'm ****_still_**** on a roll, apparently. These two just won't leave me alone so I keep on writing. :) I love it when characters seem to develop their own personalities, separate from who you initially planned them to be. For instance, I'm finding out that Scorpius has a much dryer sense of humor than I would have thought. And Rose has definitely inherited the Weasley temper, although, as Ron pointed out at the end of ****_The Deathly Hallows, _****she has her mother's brains. And as for Albus and James, they have clearly inherited Ginny's deviousness. It's so much fun to write!**

**I really hope you enjoy this chapter. For those of you who have asked me about Goyle, you'll have to wait one more chapter to find out how he is punished. Sorry! I initially wrapped that up at the end of this chapter but it just worked so much better at the beginning of the next one. So stay tuned!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading, and ****_please _****review! Your questions and comments make me think, which makes me look at the story from a fresh perspective, which makes my writing better! It means a lot.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Bruises Fade**

The next morning, for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain, Scorpius found himself leaning against the wall opposite the Gryffindor portrait hole waiting for Rose to emerge. When she and Melinda finally appeared an hour later, the redhead stopped short, eyeing him warily, before turning and heading in the opposite direction.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Scorpius demanded lazily.

Rose spun on her heel to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She had obviously performed some kind of cosmetic charm to cover up the more noticeable injuries, but there was still swelling visible on the left side of her face and her skin was a few shades paler than usual. Her damaged hand was cradled against her abdomen and she was walking as if she were in pain.

"I asked you where you were going. Having trouble with your hearing this morning?" he asked, stalking towards her.

"Not that it's any of your business, Malfoy, but I'm heading to the Great Hall for breakfast and then to class," she answered, crossing her arms in front of her. She wasn't quite able to hide the twinge of pain that the action caused in her hand and ribcage.

"Mmm-hmm," Scorpius hummed. "I think it's very much my business since you made me a promise last night." His gaze intensified, causing her to squirm. "Hospital wing. Remember?"

"She's being obstinate," Melinda commented from a few feet away, ignoring Rose's hiss of protest. "She won't let me take her and, for some reason, I haven't been able to find any of her family members this morning."

Scorpius had to fight back the smirk that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. He knew exactly where Rose's brother and the vast majority of her cousins were at the moment.

"Thank you for the input, Melinda, but I'm fine," Rose barked at her friend. "I don't need a bunch of overprotective men herding me around."

Scorpius's gaze snapped back to Rose, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. "Be that as it may, I don't take promises lightly, Rose. Hospital wing. Now."

She merely continued to stare him down.

"I'd haul you over my shoulder but you're obviously favoring your ribs, so either you come along voluntarily or so help me, Rose, I'll stupefy you and _drag_ your arse down there. Your choice."

Both girls' mouths dropped open in shock. Scorpius stood his ground, waiting for Rose to make up her mind. Finally, she huffed in annoyance. "Fine."

Scorpius gestured for her to precede him. "You should probably remove whatever charm you put on your face."

A flash of vulnerability flickered across Rose's countenance before she slowly nodded, awkwardly lifting her wand with her damaged hand and waving it over her concealed features. Scorpius had to choke back a gasp at the mottled purple and yellow bruising that covered the entire left side of her face. Her eye was almost swollen shut and her lip and jaw were both sporting rather serious lumps. Avoiding eye contact, Rose lowered the wand to reveal more bruising around each of her wrists and the swelling and discoloration of her right hand. Taking a deep and shaky breath, Rose began to make her way towards the hospital wing with Scorpius trailing along behind her.

* * *

"You two again," Madam Pomfrey commented dryly when she noticed Rose and Scorpius walking into the hospital wing. "Two days in a row? Even for you that's impressive. Aren't you getting a little old for this sort of thing?"

She looked Rose over, from head to toe. "You should have a seat, dear. Preferably before you fall down." When Rose complied, Madam Pomfrey dragged a stool over to the bed and began her examination. The elderly matron narrowed her eyes as she took in the extent of the young girl's injuries. "You've got some nasty contusions here," she said with a frown. "Broken hand." She observed Rose's wince as she ran her fingers down her side. "Couple of broken ribs."

"It wasn't me this time, I swear," Scorpius spoke up.

Madam Pomfrey continued to inspect the bruises marring Rose's skin. "No, I can see that. The injuries you two cause one another, however numerous or frequent they may be, are typically the byproducts of your confrontations, not their purpose. These were clearly done with the intent to cause pain." She looked up at Scorpius, a slight smile on her lips. "Not your style, Mr. Malfoy."

After a few moments of quietly tending to Rose, Madam Pomfrey spoke again. "So, Miss Weasley, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I…um…well, I…" She took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. "I was on my way back to Gryffindor Tower after detention last night and I wasn't paying attention and…" She broke off, her gaze flitting over Scorpius before dropping to focus on her lap, where the matron was currently working on healing her hand. "He wouldn't let me pass and he crushed my wand hand before I could…"

Rose paused, attempting to get her breathing under control. Madam Pomfrey leaned closer, her voice gentle and reassuring, as it would have been had she been dealing with a skittish animal or frightened child. "Who, dear?"

Scorpius remained silent for a few moments, waiting for Rose to continue. When she didn't seem to be able to form words, he interjected. "Gus Goyle. I found him trying to force himself on her." His voice was surprisingly devoid of emotions, low and level, but with a sharp edge to it that made Rose realize just how insane someone would have to be to provoke him. Of course since she provoked him on a fairly regular basis, that only made her question her own mental stability yet again.

"Has this been reported yet? These wounds don't look brand new."

"She refused to come here last night, so no."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I'll inform Professor McGonagall as soon as I'm finished here."

Rose said nothing, just continued to stare off into space in an attempt to avoid thinking about the previous night's events. Any of them. Because sitting here, with Scorpius so close and acting so out of character brought to mind another instance when he had done so. And that _particular_ event did not warrant consideration.

"I'll be right back, dear. I'm just going to get you a potion to help the pain. You're going to need it before I reset those ribs." Madam Pomfrey stood and walked to the medicine cabinet in her office.

Scorpius turned to see Rose studying him carefully. "What?"

"Why are you doing this? Why do you care?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes to disguise the fact that this was not a question he was entirely comfortable with. Why _did_ he care? Merlin only knew.

"Let's just say that I like fighting with you. And that is considerably more difficult to do when you're not at your best. It's just not as fun if the fight isn't fair." He didn't mention his feelings of guilt at the fact that she would never even have crossed paths with Goyle if he hadn't kissed her. Or the strange catch he had felt in his chest, which he couldn't quite put a name to, when he had seen her being attacked.

She nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer, and went back to studying her hands. Silence settled over them and Scorpius began to feel uneasy. His thoughts kept straying to the reason that she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going the night before. To the giant elephant in the room that they were both trying desperately to ignore. The giant pink elephant that was currently turning pirouettes, dressed in a lime green tutu, and whistling Debussy's Claire de Lune at the top of its lungs. He didn't know how much longer he could keep pretending that the kiss hadn't happened.

He stood beside the hospital bed, studying Rose's face before tentatively broaching the subject. "Are we going to talk about it?"

Rose visibly stiffened. "Talk about what?" she responded after a moment, feigning innocence.

"Okay, fair enough." He didn't miss the fact that Rose exhaled in relief when she realized that he wasn't going to push the issue. He felt a little relieved himself. It had been a moment of complete and total insanity that was probably better off forgotten.

After a few more moments of silence, Rose whispered, "Scorpius?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For, um…" she trailed off.

He cleared his throat, shifting from foot to foot in discomfort. "You're welcome."

Things suddenly felt very awkward. Now that the crisis had passed, it was clear that they had no idea how to act around one another. After six years of intense rivalry, being this close and not fighting felt incredibly unnatural.

Scorpius needed to do something to break the tension. "Well, Dandelion, at least things are never boring when you're around."

"Dammit, Malfoy," Rose exclaimed, irritated. "Why can't you just call me by the right bloody name?!"

"Now where would be the fun in that?" he asked, smirking at her with that annoyingly cocky look on his face. They settled into the familiar pattern of bickering with each other, the uneasiness of a moment ago evaporating into a more recognizable form of tension.

Rose's annoyance began to increase the longer he looked at her with that pompous grin. There was nothing that provoked her more than being called by all of Scorpius's ridiculous flower names. "Oh, sure, now you want to have fun, but yesterday when I told you to crush the Sopophorous bean you just _had _to follow the instructions to the letter. No imagination."

"We're seriously back to that again?" Now, he was actually getting angry. "I wanted to follow directions that had been written after years, probably _centuries, _of careful research and you're angry because you would have thrown all that out the window and listened to some comment your _famous_ Uncle Harry made at the dinner table one night?!"

"It's better if you crush it!"

"Well forgive me if I'm not going to take second-hand advice from a wizard who never even attended his seventh year."

"He's Head Auror. I think he's more than qualified."

"Well what was Kingsley going to do, Buttercup? Tell him 'well I know you're The Chosen One and you defeated You-Know-Who almost single-handedly but I really think you should go on back to school so you can actually graduate?' Right, like that was going to happen."

"And what about _your_ family, _Malfoy?_ They're not exactly known for being by the book now are they?" she scoffed.

Scorpius's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's a low-blow and you know it."

Rose shrugged insolently. "You bring my family into it, I'll go after yours."

"_You're_ the one who brought up your goddamn Uncle Harry in the first place!"

"Yeah, sure, just turn it all back around on me. Always have to blame someone else, don't you?"

Scorpius threw his hands up in frustration. "What in Merlin's name is wrong with you? I swear, if you weren't injured, I'd curse you into oblivion right now."

"Oh, please. I don't need your pity, Malfoy. Besides, it's not like you could actually beat me in a duel anyway, injured or not."

"You know, _Pansy_, you're not as amazing as you think you are," he commented sarcastically.

Rose let out a strangled scream and reached for her wand just as Madam Pomfrey came rushing out of her office, drawn by the volume of their shouting, which had been steadily increasing as the argument heated up.

* * *

When Albus, James, and Roxie walked in a few moments later to check on their cousin, they found Scorpius scowling, Rose fuming, and Madam Pomfrey scolding. "If you two cannot control yourselves, I will serve you both with detention! Honestly, you will both be of age within a month! Why can't you grow up enough to stop trying to kill each other at every opportunity? And here I was thinking that maybe you had learned something. You were getting along not ten minutes ago. What happened?!"

Scorpius and Rose had the good sense to look thoroughly chastised. They bowed their heads in shame but could not resist shooting each other dirty looks when Madam Pomfrey was focused on her medical supplies.

Albus leaned over towards his brother and cousin. "Is it bad that I'm kind of relieved to see them fighting? For a moment there, when Scorpius was taking care of her last night, I thought the world might be ending."

"You weren't the only one, mate," James answered.

"Alright, everyone! I'm going to work on her ribs now so you'll have to leave us for a moment." Madam Pomfrey stood and drew a curtain around Rose's bed, closing them all out.

After a moment, Albus made his way over to Scorpius, who was now leaning against the wall nonchalantly. Scorpius nodded his head in acknowledgement but remained silent as Albus took the place beside him. "So I guess I should thank you for what you did last night."

Scorpius merely shrugged. "No need."

Albus turned his head to look at the blonde Slytherin. "What was different this time?"

"What?" Scorpius asked, confused.

"You and Rose attack each other on a regular basis. I didn't think you had any concern for her safety, whatsoever. Why'd you save her?"

"Hey, there's a line that even I won't cross. She and I may fight dirty, but we always fight fair. Besides," he sneered, "I've been wanting to have a go at Goyle since first year when he spilled pumpkin juice all over my favorite Puddlemere United poster."

"_Puddlemere United?"_

"Yes. And it was hard enough to sneak that by my father in the first place. He's a religious Falmouth Falcons fan." Scorpius answered.

Albus watched him carefully for a moment. "So you two aren't going to miraculously start getting along now?"

Scorpius snorted. "Can you really see that happening? We're oil and vinegar, Al. You can shake us up into a nice vinaigrette but unless you just keep on shaking, we're always gonna separate." He gave Albus a mischievous smile as he pushed his body off the wall. "Anyway, it's just too much bloody fun to piss her off."

With a last wave to the Weasley/Potter cousins, Scorpius made his way out of the hospital wing, pausing momentarily to shout, "See ya, Snowdrop!" in Rose's general direction. He grinned at the very colorful and inventive expletive that she hurled at him through the curtain. She was back.

* * *

Rose was summoned to Professor McGonagall's office to address the matter of her attack later that afternoon. Albus insisted on accompanying her for, as he claimed, "moral support."

Once they were seated in front of the headmistress's desk, Rose was asked to go over exactly what had happened to her. The fact that Albus was a steady presence beside her went a long way in helping her to articulate the events of the previous night. She began her story right after she had left the potions room—skipping over the _incident_ with Scorpius of course—and took her time, pausing frequently. When she had finally gotten to the part where Scorpius had intervened, she found that she was completely exhausted. As succinctly as possible, she summed up the rest of the evening, glossing over any details that she did not think were entirely relevant, specifically any of Scorpius's actions that she could not easily explain. To be honest, she didn't want to examine him too carefully for fear of what she might find. And how those revelations may possibly affect her. She took a deep breath when she was finally finished, feeling surprisingly cleansed by her confession.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley, I know that was very difficult for you." McGonagall gave Rose a soft, encouraging smile. "Now. Unfortunately, we have been unable to locate Mr. Goyle. Do you have any idea where he may be?" she asked, peering over her glasses.

"No, headmistress. I haven't seen him since he…" she trailed off. "I don't know where he is."

"Hmm." She raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I should bring all of the males, and a few of the females, in your family in for questioning but I am afraid I just do not have the time in my schedule for what is certain to prove a futile exercise. I am sure that Mr. Goyle is _alive and well_ somewhere?" This last sentence was directed at Albus.

"I wouldn't worry, professor. I'm sure he'll turn up right as rain in the next day or two. You know him. He's not the brightest bloke in the world, is he?" Albus responded cheerily. "Probably just took a wrong turn, ended up lost in the bowels of the castle somewhere. You know how it is. Navigating this place can be a bit tricky."

Rose stared, open-mouthed at her cousin. He had as good as admitted that he and her other family members had kidnapped Goyle and were holding him captive. She held her breath as she waited for McGonagall to explode. To her surprise, the elderly headmistress merely nodded her head curtly.

"Very well, then. When he does appear, rest assured the matter will be dealt with appropriately. You two may return to your studies. Miss Weasley, if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

Rose cleared her throat, struggling to comprehend McGonagall's reaction. "Thank you, professor. I will." She stood, still slightly dazed, and followed Albus back down the winding staircase and out of the headmistress's office.

When they reached the corridor below, she turned to her cousin. "Where _is _Goyle?" she asked, realizing for the first time that she had no idea what had happened to him after his body had just dropped away from her.

Albus smirked, a dark amusement dancing within his piercing green eyes. "Haven't the foggiest. But like I told McGonagall, I'm sure he'll turn up in the next couple days."

"Albus…"

"Lots of little nooks and crannies in a castle this size, you know. That Marauder's Map really does come in handy." He glanced down at his watch. "I think it's Hugo's turn to have a go at him at the moment."

"What?! But what if—"

"Oh, hush, Rosie. Stop worrying," Albus interrupted calmly, giving her a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "It's all taken care of." With that, he turned away and strode down the corridor whistling, leaving Rose to gape after him in awe. Her family could be more than a little terrifying at times.

* * *

**The title of the next chapter is..."Escalations and Inevitabilities." Hope to see you next time!**


	6. Escalations and Inevitabilities

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Yup, still on a roll! We're starting to get to some of the good stuff where Scorpius and Rose are concerned so stay tuned! I'm excited to see where these two take me so it's great motivation to write - along with your support, of course! **

**This chapter has the conclusion of the Weasley/Potter revenge on Goyle that I'm sure everyone was looking forward to...I know I was. Hopefully it'll live up to the suspense I built. **

**As always, thank you so much for reading and ****_please_**** review! Now that I'm getting to more juicy interactions, I have crossed into completely unfamiliar territory writing-wise so I would appreciate any comments/criticisms/suggestions you may have. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Escalations and Inevitabilities**

True to Albus's prediction, Augustus Goyle did turn up a day and a half later in the Great Hall where everyone was gathered for dinner. Unfortunately for him, he was also completely naked and sporting a rather lovely crimson and gold feather boa wrapped around a certain part of his anatomy.

Amongst the overwhelming chorus of jeers and raucous laughter, McGonagall hurriedly summoned a cloak for the now _very_ red-faced Slytherin to cover himself with before directing him to her office. There, Goyle proceeded to explain just where he had been for the past two days and what he had been subjected to at the hands of the Weasley/Potters. Since he was unable to provide any evidence to support his claims, however, McGonagall was forced to come to the conclusion that he had merely been hiding in the hopes of avoiding having to face the consequences of his brutal attack on Miss Weasley and he was therefore punished accordingly. He was promptly stripped of his Quidditch privileges and assigned three detentions a week for the rest of the term, as the headmistress did not seem overly concerned with further investigation into his accusations. The subject of the feather boa was carefully avoided by both parties, however a trip to the hospital wing was needed to see about its removal.

* * *

By all appearances over the next few weeks, Rose and Scorpius had settled back into their usual routine of fighting, glaring, and attempting to curse one another. They were carefully kept separate by their friends and teachers, most especially Professor Platt, who now made certain that the pair were on opposite ends of the room at all times during her Potions classes. The only two people who noticed that the dynamic between the rivals had shifted slightly were Rose and Scorpius themselves. Suddenly, when they looked at one another, they had some less than unpleasant, and very tactile, memories to pull from. The instant their eyes met, they couldn't help but feel a crackle of awareness rush through them. Whereas before, whenever they had gotten within a few feet of each other there had been an overwhelming desire to attack, now their bodies had begun to hum with a different sort of desire in response to their physical proximity. And of course, this only made them more angry and resentful towards one another. All it had taken was that brief moment of contact for them to see the other person in an entirely new way, and sadly, it could not be unseen. Despite the fact that they had some kind of unspoken agreement to forget that the kiss had ever happened, nothing short of a Memory Charm would truly be able to erase it from their minds. And unfortunately for them, it didn't help that they had four of their five NEWT level classes together.

Rose found herself spending more of her free time in Gryffindor Tower in the hopes of avoiding any contact with Scorpius. Outside of her house common room, however, the only reprieve she really had was when Scorpius was down at the greenhouses for Herbology or when she had Ancient Runes. Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts became exercises in self-restraint. Even when they were in the Great Hall for meals, he was _there_. She was constantly attempting to ignore the blonde Slytherin on the other side of the room so that she could concentrate on her classwork…or swallowing her food. Every time she happened to catch Scorpius's eye, his cool grey gaze sent a jolt through her system. She found herself schooling her face into a look of disgust or hatred, just so that she would not have to focus on the unnamed emotions swirling within her. She hated him. She really, really hated him.

In the library one evening at the end of April, Rose looked up from her Ancient Runes textbook to discover that she had completely lost track of time. Dinner had started almost an hour ago and, if she didn't hurry down to the Great Hall before its conclusion, she would have to go beg the House Elves in the kitchen for leftovers. Her growling stomach heartily objected to that idea. Quickly packing up her books and slinging her bag over her shoulder, she stood up from the table she had been using at the back of the library and hurried out. She was in such a rush that she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going and so she was nearly knocked off her feet when she slammed into a wall of solid muscle. The crash momentarily stunned her, causing her to teeter dangerously on her feet, and she most likely would have fallen, were it not for the strong hand that shot out to steady her.

* * *

Scorpius was distracted at dinner. For some reason, he felt restless. Or rather, for many reasons. He was worried about the monster of a Herbology essay that was due for Professor Longbottom in a couple of days, stressed about the fact that he had been unable to focus in classes for the past several weeks, and annoyed that the usual target for his frustrations had not bothered to show up to dinner. Where was Rose? He could really use a fight right now. He needed to let loose on someone before his head exploded.

She had been way too much of a distraction ever since that night in the potions classroom. He needed to concentrate on his schoolwork if he had any hopes of fulfilling his dreams of being a Healer. Unfortunately, Rose was in almost every single one of his classes and he just could not seem to focus when she was around. He found himself glaring at her more and more despite the fact that he would be much better off if he could just ignore her existence altogether. Why couldn't he stop looking at her? He hated her. He really, really hated her.

He looked down at his plate, realizing that he had been pushing his food around with his fork for the past ten minutes. Clearly, he couldn't even manage to eat a meal without his mind wandering. He needed to pull himself together. Dropping his napkin and utensils onto the table, Scorpius stood. He would go to the library and get a head start on his Herbology essay. Maybe the peace and quiet of the stacks at this time of day would help him channel his energy into schoolwork.

He hurried out of the Great Hall and down the corridor towards the library, still deep in thought. He was so focused on everything running through his mind that he wasn't watching where he was going. As he turned the corner, he crashed headlong into someone, causing them to bounce backwards from the force of the impact. Scorpius looked down in surprise, only to be confronted with the head of wild red hair that could only belong to Rose Weasley.

* * *

Scorpius reflexively reached out and grabbed onto Rose's elbow to steady her, the touch of his fingers on her bare skin sending sparks up her arm and causing her to pull back as if she had been scalded.

Scorpius huffed in frustration. "Okay, this is ridiculous. I think we need to talk about it."

Rose sighed, brushing the hair out of her eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, I think you're right. We've been jumping out of our skin whenever we see one another. That has to stop."

"Hey, it's not my fault I make you nervous, Snapdragon," he smirked.

"Is that really how you want to start this conversation?"

Scorpius let out a frustrated breath, "No." He opened his mouth to continue but promptly shut it again, glancing around him. He wrapped his hand around Rose's wrist and pulled her into a deserted hallway off of the main corridor. This conversation was definitely not meant to be overheard. Scorpius stopped a few yards into the hallway, releasing Rose's arm, and turning to lean against the wall beside a tapestry of a werewolf that seemed to be happily chasing its own tail.

When he didn't speak again, Rose finally decided to just dive in head first. "So…we kissed."

"Yeah…we did."

Aggravated with his reticence, Rose pushed further. "Well why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

"I don't know, Carnation. Why did you kiss me back?"

"Dammit, Malfoy. You're the one who wanted to talk about this in the first place," Rose fumed. "If you're not going to say something that's actually useful, then I'm just going to leave."

"Okay, okay. Calm down." He pushed himself off of the wall and turned to face her.

"So why did you kiss me?" Rose repeated. She cocked her hip, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for him to contribute something to the discussion.

At first, she wasn't sure he was going to answer her. Then, finally, he spoke. "I don't know," he muttered. "You were angry, I was angry. The whole thing—it was just an escalation." Scorpius shrugged, refusing to make eye contact.

"Fine. Then we agree. We should just pretend like it never happened."

"Fine."

"Fine." Rose moved to walk away but Scorpius reached out and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. Letting out a rush of air, she spun back towards him, slamming their bodies together and fixing her mouth to his.

His arms immediately came around her, one to encircle her waist, the other to slide up her back until his fingers could tangle in her hair. He pulled her close, pressing his body firmly to hers, and taking the kiss deeper. She clutched at the muscles of his back and shoulders as his tongue slid along her lower lip, sending delicious tremors through her body in long, liquid pulls. All of a sudden, she felt like she just couldn't get close enough. The entire world had narrowed down to this hallway, this kiss, his arms and lips and _Oh Merlin_ his tongue.

"What the hell is happening?" Rose breathed against his mouth as Scorpius backed her towards the nearest wall.

"I have no idea, but let's not think about it for a minute."

She groaned in response, threading her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and holding him to her as his lips, tongue, and teeth made their way across her jaw and down her throat. He nipped at her pulse point, sending a shiver down her spine and causing her to undulate against him. "Scor."

His mouth came back to hers, searing her senses as his tongue swept through her lips to tangle with her own. She could taste a hint of the pumpkin juice he had had with dinner, its sweet and tangy flavor swirling with the spiciness of the scent that was uniquely Scorpius.

He pressed her further into the wall, moaning into her mouth as her hips came into contact with his. She bit down on his lower lip and his hand slid from her back, skimmed past her ribcage, and settled over her breast. In the back of her mind, Rose registered an overwhelming sense of relief as he began to knead her flesh. Without consciously acknowledging it, a part of her had been terrified that, after what Goyle had done to her, she wouldn't be able to handle being touched like this again. How wrong she was. Instead of panic or discomfort, or any number of unpleasant emotions, all she felt was pleasure. _Merlin,_ but he was good with his hands.

Rose whimpered as both of his hands slid down her sides and over her hips, clutching at the backs of her thighs until she hitched herself up to wrap her legs around his waist. She rotated her hips against his, eliciting a low moan from Scorpius's throat. Loving the sound, she duplicated the motion, causing him to moan again before pulling his mouth from hers and sinking his teeth into the flesh just above her collarbone. Rose gasped, tugging on his hair until he raised his head. Their gazes locked, their eyes darkened with lust as they stared at one another. Finally, their mouths crashed back together in a wild, frenzied kiss that left them both completely breathless and needing more.

Somewhere in the distance, as if from a very long way away, Rose's lust-addled brain discerned the sounds of voices and rapidly approaching footsteps. Suddenly, Scorpius snapped his head up, tearing his lips from hers. He looked around frantically, finally pulling back the tapestry of the batty werewolf to reveal a small niche in the stone wall. He let out a relieved breath as he pivoted behind the fabric, with Rose still wrapped around him, just as a group of chattering Third Years on their way back from dinner rounded the corner. He clutched her body firmly against his, trying to be as silent as possible so as not alert anyone to their presence.

After the other students had passed, Rose let out a gush of breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. She slowly slid down Scorpius's body, landing back on her feet in front of him. She chanced a peek upwards at his shadowed face to find him staring back at her. They watched one another warily for a few seconds in the dim light, until they were certain that the hallway was once again empty, before making their way back into the brightly lit corridor.

As they emerged from behind the tapestry, Rose backed away from Scorpius, breathing heavily, careful to keep at least an arm's length of distance between them. "This never happened."

Scorpius nodded, his chest heaving and his eyes locked on hers. "Never happened. Let's just forget about it."

"Forget about what?" she asked, cheekily, desperately trying to ignore the way his lips looked at that moment, red and swollen from hers. And the beginning of a hickey that was forming just under his left ear. Oh, God. When had she done that?

Scorpius smirked at her, obviously observing similar evidence from his touch on her mouth and skin. "Exactly."

With a last loaded glance, they turned in opposite directions and hurried off down the hallway. Rose barely had the presence of mind to stoop and pick up the bag she had dropped when he had pushed her towards the wall. It was lucky the Third Years hadn't spotted it. As she slung the bag over her shoulder, she briefly brought her hand up, pressing her fingers to her lips, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she quickly pushed all thoughts of Scorpius from her mind and concentrated on where she was going.

A few seconds later, Rose realized that she was now heading away from the Great Hall and the dinner that would be waiting for her there. She sighed. It was probably just as well. That little detour of hers had made her even later, meaning that dinner would nearly be over. Besides, sitting at the Gryffindor House table surrounded by her family was suddenly the last place she wanted to be. She just couldn't handle all of them in this state of mind. Not to mention the fact that if they asked her where she had been, she was sure that her face would redden to roughly the shade of an overripe tomato. The curse of the redhead's skin. Definitely not something she could explain to her extremely curious relations. Better to skip it altogether than to face the Inquisition. It didn't really matter, anyway. Somehow, she seemed to have lost her appetite.

* * *

**And the next chapter is titled..."Letting Off Some Steam." I hope to see you next time!**


	7. Letting Off Some Steam

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I'm a bit nervous about this chapter. It's like nothing I've ever written before so I really hope you enjoy it! Just FYI, it ****_definitely_**** earns the M rating, so beware.**

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Letting Off Some Steam**

Rose spent days replaying the kiss with Scorpius in her head, trying to figure out just what had happened. What had made her turn around and kiss him? Because she had made that first move, she definitely couldn't blame this incident entirely on Scorpius. Their kiss in the potions classroom had been almost completely him. He had taken control, trapped her, and attacked her mouth with his until she had finally succumbed to the power of the electric currents he had sent pulsing through her body. This one had been different. She had turned around; she had attacked him.

But why? Rose tried to put herself back in that moment, to replay her thoughts as she had pressed her body flush to his and crushed their lips together. She just couldn't seem to remember thinking _anything._ All of a sudden, she had had this powerful need to get closer to him. She had wanted him, badly, and the fact that she couldn't explain why was more than a little disconcerting. Was it possible that she was starting to have feelings for Scorpius _besides_ hate?

No. That was ridiculous. She couldn't stand him. No one could even come close to pissing her off as much as he did. She hated him. And yet, when his hand had come in contact with her breast, she hadn't freaked out and pushed him away.

Rose had been sure that after Goyle had attempted to rape her, she wouldn't be able to let a man touch her for a very long time. She had thought that she would be terrified to be groped in the same way that Goyle had cruelly attempted. But for some strange reason, with Scorpius, she had been able to handle it. More than handle it, she had fully enjoyed it. Maybe it was because when Scorpius had touched her, it had been so different from the way Goyle had dug his hands into her flesh. With Scorpius, it was about pleasure. With Goyle, it had been nothing but his need to prove his power over her. They couldn't even be compared.

But Scorpius was her worst enemy. Shouldn't a touch from a man who had spent the better part of the last six years trying to attack her—verbally, physically, magically—make her feel unsafe? Wouldn't logic dictate a certain amount of unease when in a vulnerable position with him? Instead, she had felt completely the opposite. The strangest thing about their moment in the hallway was, when his arms were wrapped around her and his lips were clamped to hers, she trusted him. She felt safe—something that was completely incongruous with the way she had always viewed her relationship with Scorpius. It was as if she knew, deep down, that he was just as lost in her as she was in him.

The only explanation, or excuse, that Rose could come up with was that, when it came to Scorpius, she wasn't able to form enough of a thought to worry about anything other than how he was making her feel. Even when they fought, he made her so angry that she lost all sense of reason. Her closest friends often commented that, for such an intelligent and logical person, she seemed to go completely insane when Scorpius was around. Apparently that loss of rationality applied to less violent forms of interaction with him as well.

She needed to pull herself together. Final exams were fast approaching and she needed to focus on her schoolwork. Besides, they had agreed to forget that the kiss ever happened. It didn't matter how it had felt, or the thoughts she was still having about it days later, the only thing that mattered was that_ it had not happened._

* * *

Scorpius couldn't stop thinking about his kiss with Rose. Not for any girly reasons like, _"it had felt good,"_ or_ "I wonder if she's thinking about it too,"_ but because he just could not figure out what the hell had happened. He never lost control like that with a girl. Whenever he had kissed someone before—and he had kissed enough girls to have a sufficient data pool to draw from—he was always able to keep a rational part of his mind focused enough to wander. For instance, he had once written a third of his Potions essay in his head while heavily snogging Marlene Doyle. Not that it hadn't been very enjoyable, but it hadn't needed one hundred percent of his attention.

With Rose, however, his brain was so completely fried by one kiss that he could barely remember his own name. All that seemed to matter was hers. He just could not understand how it happened, but he lost any and all coherent thought when she touched him. Everything else disappeared but the way she made him feel. When he had had her pressed up against the wall in that hallway, he had been so lost in her that he had barely had the presence of mind to pull them behind the tapestry before they were discovered by a group of giggling third years. That would have been disastrous.

And now, days later, he was still thinking about it. What was wrong with him? With finals coming up, that kiss with Rose was the last thing that should be on his mind. It wasn't like it mattered, anyway. _It had never happened._

* * *

Rose thought she had been doing a wonderful job of pretending that the most recent incident with Scorpius had never occurred. Of course, the fact that she was nearly going insane studying for final exams may have had something to do with her success. She was feeling completely overwhelmed by Ancient Runes, so much so that by the last week in May, she was beginning to dream that strange morphing hieroglyphs were chasing her around the school while she desperately tried to translate whatever it was they were screeching at her. With finals beginning in six days, Rose thought she was surely going crazy. And it wasn't even time for NEWTs yet. What would she feel like at the end of next year if she was this stressed now? Then again, if she couldn't pass her Ancient Runes exam this year, her hopes of being a Curse-breaker would be crushed, so maybe she was freaking out in proper proportion.

Six days left. Six days, and she already felt as if her hindquarters were permanently affixed to the chair in the library where she was sure she would be until the day she dropped dead of exhaustion and stress. And with the way she was feeling at the moment, that day was likely to come sooner rather than later.

She sighed as she closed the book she had been combing through and rolled up her Ancient Runes notes, setting them aside in favor of Transfiguration. That was the second most dreaded of her exams and, despite the fact that Rose would have liked nothing more than to go to sleep for the next two or three days, she needed to keep studying. Looking around at the numerous leather bound tomes and countless rolls of parchment cluttering her table, Rose groaned. She had forgotten to pull one of the necessary books from the library shelves. Her stiff muscles screamed in protest as she hauled herself to her feet and headed towards the stacks that housed the Transfiguration section.

She needed a break. Desperately. Sadly, she knew that if she stopped now, there was no way that she would ever be able to get herself focused enough to start again. So, instead of taking a nap or going for a stroll around the Hogwarts grounds on this beautiful springtime afternoon, she dragged herself through the shelves of books in search of the volume she required.

As she turned down the aisle of Transfiguration books, letters F-M, she spotted a familiar white-blonde head at the far end. She almost groaned out loud. Scorpius Malfoy was the last person she wanted to see right now. At least he looked as run down as she felt. He had deep bags under his eyes and he moved without his usual effortless grace. That was a small consolation.

Doing her best to ignore his existence, Rose turned towards the shelves and quickly located the book she needed all the way at the top. She sighed in annoyance. Of course it wouldn't be easily accessible. Just as she was about to boost herself up onto her tiptoes so that she could reach the volume above her however, Scorpius's hand closed around the spine and pulled it from the shelf. Rose stared at him in surprise. "Thank you."

"Thank you?" he asked, cocking his head and smirking at her. "Oh, no, Poppy. I took this down for myself. You're just going to have to wait your turn."

_"What?_ I was here first. It's not my fault I'm shorter than you!" she whispered harshly.

"You need to be quiet, Bluebell," he told her in an exaggerated whisper. "This is a library."

"Don't you _dare_ tell me to be quiet. Now give me that book, Malfoy."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Temper, Violet. I keep telling you that you need to work on that but you just don't listen."

Rose dove for the book but he pulled it out of her reach at the last second, causing her to crash into his chest. He stumbled backwards a step, his shoulders hitting the bookshelf behind him. Rose was still reaching for the book, which was now well above her head, a sight that made Scorpius snicker.

Rose narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. He could practically see the smoke pouring out of her ears. "Give. Me. That. Book."

He leaned his head down so that his face was only inches from hers. "No," he breathed.

Suddenly, the growing tension between them snapped. In an instant, they had both surged forward, their lips colliding and their hands reaching for one another. The book dropped to the floor, forgotten, as Rose pushed Scorpius's larger body against the shelving behind him and pressed her body to his. Their tongues tangled frantically, their teeth clashing as they completely lost control.

Scorpius's arms quickly encircled her waist under her robes, and he slipped one hand beneath her shirt so that it could slide up the silky skin along her spine. Rose shivered, biting down on his lip in reply before soothing the sting with her tongue, smiling at his whimpered response.

He tugged her even closer to him, causing her to let out a strangled moan against his mouth. He tipped his head back slightly, pulling his mouth from hers just long enough to whisper, "Shhh," before leaning back into the kiss.

"Don't you _dare_ 'Shhh' me," Rose growled, pushing him more firmly into the bookcase at his back.

She skimmed her hands up over the muscles of his arms and across his shoulders before clasping her elbows and locking her arms behind his neck. She rolled her body into his, relishing the contact. Scorpius groaned and his fingers began to venture further north so that they could play with the lacy material along the clasp of her bra.

As he slid a finger beneath the fabric, Rose gasped, pulling her mouth from his. She pressed their cheeks together so that she could gently take his earlobe between her teeth, causing him to shiver in pleasure. "We can't do this."

* * *

Scorpius felt his stomach drop in disappointment at her words. That is, until Rose brushed her nose against his ear and whispered, "Not here."

He pulled back so that he could look into her eyes. Was she seriously suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? No way. Not Rose.

He carefully searched her face, attempting to decipher just what she was thinking in that insanely complicated head of hers. She looked tired, with that slightly ragged appearance that only days of intense studying could create. Still, her eyes were bright, if slightly clouded over with lust, and her face was open, her expression inviting. She clearly wanted him as much as he wanted her. Experimentally, he trailed his fingertips up her sides under her shirt, smiling when she reacted by shuddering and lowering her lashes.

He leaned in, nipping along her jaw towards her ear. "Come with me."

She nodded dazedly, clasping her fingers around his when he stepped back and offered her his hand. Scorpius didn't know why she was suddenly willing to go along with him, but he certainly wasn't going to stop and discuss it with her. He didn't expect them to get any further than they had the last time their bodies had come together like this, but he was definitely not going to pass up the opportunity to feel like that again, for as long as she'd let him. She had a way of making him lose his mind and at the moment, nothing sounded more appealing.

Scorpius cautiously guided them around the stacks at the back of the library, careful to stay hidden from the other students who were trapped there during the week before exams. They pressed themselves up against the shelving, maneuvering their way quickly and quietly towards the library entrance. Once they had slipped through the open doors unseen, Scorpius tightened his hold on Rose's hand and dragged her in the direction of the nearest broom closet, quickly ushering her inside and grabbing hold of the doorknob to close them in.

* * *

Rose had a moment to wonder what in Merlin's name she was thinking as Scorpius closed the door to the broom closet behind them and quickly spun towards her to pin her to the wall with his body. He had ways of making her turn her usually over-analytical brain off completely, a fact that should have been much more disconcerting than she was currently finding it. She briefly considered pushing him away, but then his gaze locked on hers and the look in his eyes took her breath away. He clearly wanted her just as much as she wanted him. They were equals in this, just as they were when they fought. That was half the fun of it. And so, instead of stopping things before they went any further, Rose reached for him, interlacing her fingers behind his neck and pulling his mouth down to hers.

The kiss swept through her, pushing any doubts from her mind and forcing her to focus solely on Scorpius—and the hands and mouth and hips that were currently driving her wild. She leaned into him as his fingers made their way back under the hem of her shirt, skirting along her waist, and settling on her hips, clutching her as close to his body as possible. Suddenly, Rose didn't think it was fair that he was the only one who got to touch skin. She quickly slid her hands down his chest, pulling on his already-loosened tie until it fell to the floor between them, and making short work of the buttons on his shirt. As soon as the last button slipped through its hole, Rose pressed her palms to his bare chest, reveling in the heat that seemed to be coming off of him in waves.

Scorpius moaned as her hands slowly made their way down his torso, pausing to caress his toned stomach before flirting with the small strip of hair just below his belly button. When she stroked her fingernails across the skin above the waistline of his pants, he closed his eyes in tortured pleasure, lowering his head into the crook of her neck. Her mouth descended to his collarbone, her lips moving steadily up his neck to suck at the sensitive flesh below his ear.

As Rose continued to explore, Scorpius slowly slid his hands down her sides, delighting in how responsive she was. He skimmed over her hips and down the outsides of her legs until he could raise the material of her skirt enough to make his way under it. At the feeling of his touch against the bare skin of her thighs, Rose moaned, long and low, her hands instinctively moving to the buckle of his belt. She slid the leather through the metal clasp, causing Scorpius to clutch the backs of her thighs and pull her up until she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.

She gasped as his fingers slid around from where they had been firmly cupping her arse and found her core. He shoved her panties to the side and stroked her, groaning along with her when he felt how ready she was for him. Rose was panting, her eyes tightly shut as she absorbed the sensations rippling through her body. Finally, she was able to pull herself together enough to push her hands between them and finish unfastening his trousers.

Scorpius reached back to help her as she shoved his pants down over his hips, eliminating the last layer of clothing between them. She clutched desperately at his shoulders, trying to bring him even closer and bit her lip to stifle the moan as his tip brushed against her slippery folds, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her system.

Abruptly, Scorpius pulled his head back, needing to see into her eyes. "Rose," he breathed, begging her to look at him. When her gaze snapped to his, she saw that his expression was serious. "Are you sure about this?"

Rose answered by rolling her hips, pushing him closer to her entrance and causing his breath to catch on a tortured gasp. "Rose. Please. I need you to be sure."

She laced her fingers through his hair and pulled his face close to hers, whispering "I'm sure," against his lips, before crushing their mouths together.

In one smooth thrust, Scorpius buried himself inside of her, growling at the feeling of her slick, tight heat. It felt so unbelievably incredible. _She_ felt so unbelievably incredible.

Rose arched her back in pleasure, baring her neck to his teeth, as he plunged into her over and over again. She could feel herself tightening around him even further, building up to a climax that was greater than anything she had ever thought to experience. She could barely even draw breath as he pushed her higher and higher, pulling her tauter and tauter, until she didn't think she could take it anymore. And then he lowered his mouth to her throat, sucking the skin at her pulse point between his teeth, and she shattered.

Scorpius quickly covered her mouth with his, muffling her screams as best he could. Her contractions pushed him closer and closer to the brink, until he finally let out a roar of his own as his release swept through him and he followed her over the edge. Completely drained, he could do little more than bury his face in Rose's hair, clutching her close to his body as they both gasped for breath and tried to regain some semblance of control.

* * *

"Well, that was classy. I just had sex in a broom closet," Rose grumbled to herself as she straightened the front of her robes and attempted to finger-comb the frizzy mess that was her hair.

"We were just letting off some steam. It doesn't need to be classy."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Merlin, you're such a guy."

"Well, _yeah._ I think I just proved that, didn't I?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rose fixed him with a pointed look. "This _cannot_ happen again. _Ever."_

"Fine by me. We're just stressed out because of exams. We needed the release."

"Exactly. Just letting off steam. Nothing's changed. We still hate each other."

Scorpius nodded. "Right."

"Okay." With one last glance back at her nemesis, his mouth swollen from her kisses, his hair still mussed from her fingers, Rose turned and stuck her head out of the closet. Once she was sure that the coast was clear, she slipped back into the hallway, leaving Scorpius to finish tidying himself up before doing the same.

* * *

When Scorpius reentered the library a few minutes later, he saw Rose seated at one of the tables, calmly flipping through the Transfiguration textbook that had been the catalyst for their argument. He glowered at her as he passed by, causing her to glance up at him from the dusty pages in front of her and shoot him a smirk, her eyes glinting wickedly. "I hate you," he hissed.

Her smirk widened into a full-blown smile. "Good."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope I pulled that off okay. The title for the next chapter is..."Denial." Hope to see you next time!**


	8. Denial

**Author's Note: Okay, here it is. I had a lot of trouble writing Scorpius's point of view in this chapter so, unfortunately, there isn't as much from his perspective as there usually is. I might go back over it at some point in the distant future and see if I get inspired. But for now, it is what it is.**

**Fun fact: We get to meet Scorpius's owl in this chapter. She is a black barn owl. If you've never heard of them, look them up. They're quite fascinating and extremely rare. They're also very beautiful. They are black and dark brown in color, instead of the usual reddish brown/white combo, due to a genetic disorder called melanism. Only one in 100,000 is born with this condition and they rarely survive because their mothers usually kill them at birth because of their unusual coloring. Even if they do survive to adulthood, other owls are known to attack them as a result of their abnormal appearance. Definitely worth a Google search to see the pictures of the few black barn owls that are kept safe in captivity.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy, and _please_ review!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Denial**

No one seemed to notice that the heated glances Rose and Scorpius sent one another's way were no longer merely glares of hatred. The hate was still there, of course, but simmering just beneath the surface, there was a heady jolt of lust every time their gazes locked. What everyone did notice, however, was that the number of glares they shared on a daily basis had increased dramatically. This led to the conclusion that the hatred between Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley had intensified yet again. Of course, if anyone had asked Scorpius or Rose if this were the case, they would have agreed whole-heartedly. They firmly believed that they hated one another and that they always would. Their bodies' responses to these frequent moments of simmering eye contact were not so easily convinced.

Thankfully, they were able to focus most of their energy on exams, with surprisingly minimal disruptions, due in large part to the fact that they were kept well apart—and watched very carefully—during their finals. The teachers were definitely not willing to risk a repeat of their third year, when Rose had _accidentally_ shot an extremely powerful Cheering Charm across the room in Scorpius's direction, causing him to erupt in hysterical fits of laughter and preventing him from being able to finish his practical…or draw sufficient breath. He had been promptly removed from the examination room and taken to a quiet place where he could pull himself together. Fortunately for Scorpius, he had been allowed to complete his assessment once he was able to control himself enough to merely giggle between spells.

When Rose finally stumbled out of her Ancient Runes exam on the first Friday in June, she was thoroughly exhausted. She halfheartedly took part in the raucous festivities raging on well into the night in the Gryffindor common room before dragging herself up the stairs, flopping down on her bed, and sleeping for the next eleven hours. For the first time in two weeks, her mind was free from the stress of upcoming exams, and it took full advantage of its newly-recovered ability to wander.

Rose awoke with images of Scorpius swirling in her head and his taste in her mouth. More than a little disconcerted, she quickly jumped into the shower, hoping to wash the residue of a dream that she couldn't even fully remember from her mind and body. Unfortunately for her, every time she closed her eyes, she was treated to flashes of his hands on her skin, his tongue twining with hers, the way she had felt with him inside of her. Apparently Rose hadn't done as good of a job as she had thought when it came to erasing their little rendezvous in the broom closet from her mind. The memory had simply lain in wait, patiently biding its time until she let her guard down. At least the summer holidays were beginning. She wouldn't have to see Scorpius Malfoy for three entire months. She couldn't wait.

* * *

All of the students had managed to get through the dreaded testing week alive, and they were now cheerfully packed up and boarding the Hogwarts Express for the summer holidays. Scorpius dragged his trunk onto the platform and stopped to survey the crowd of people around him. The next time he saw this train, he would be starting his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Only one more year of this before he had to face the real world.

A splash of red caught his attention a few yards away. Rose Weasley was laughing with a few of her cousins, maneuvering her trunk up the steps into one of the train cars. He watched as she disappeared from view, only to reappear in the window of the second compartment. She plopped down on the padded seat between James and Fred, slinging her arms around their shoulders and smiling broadly. Then, she turned her head and her eyes locked with his, sending a shockwave of lust through his system.

_Dammit_. He had been doing so well pretending that nothing had happened between them. There was no reason a brief moment of eye contact should have this effect on him. He truly could not stand that girl. She was bossy, stubborn as hell, and a stuck-up know-it-all. And yet, his body didn't seem to listen to him despite the fact that he repeatedly told it that he had _zero_ interest in Rose Weasley. Unless it meant making her life a living hell. Sure, every once in a while he would find his mind wandering to the way her lips had tasted, or the look of ecstasy on her face when he had slid into her. Or the way it had felt when her heat had engulfed him. But he still hated her. That was never going to change. So what if that brief encounter in the broom closet had been the most intense sexual experience of his life. So what? It didn't mean anything. Tearing his eyes away from Rose, Scorpius made his way across the platform and onto the train. Summer holidays could not begin soon enough.

* * *

When the train was half an hour outside of King's Cross Station, Rose gathered up her muggle clothing and left the compartment filled with her male cousins so that she could change in the privacy of the bathroom. She made her way down the corridor and was about to turn into the water closet when she realized that it was already occupied. Scorpius Malfoy was standing at the sink, slicking his hair back in the mirror. It was a very different look from the carelessly tousled way that he always wore his hair at school. Without his white-blonde locks falling into his eyes, the clear grey orbs took on an other-worldly appearance and his prominent cheekbones stood out in even sharper relief.

Scorpius glanced sideways, finally noticing Rose's presence in the doorway. At her questioning look, he shrugged. "I have to make myself into my father's idea of presentable. What do you think? Much more suave like this, right?" he asked with an exaggerated wink.

Rose couldn't help the look of extreme disgust that contorted her features at the gesture.

"Careful, Begonia. Your face might get stuck that way," he cocked his head as if considering something. "Then again, it might be an improvement."

"Oh, _ouch_. That was a good one. Maybe you should write it down for posterity." Rose melodramatically patted up and down her robes as if searching for something. "Ah ha! Here we go. You can even use my quill, _genius_." She mockingly extended her hand, in which now held her favorite quill between her thumb and forefinger.

"Are you _trying_ to start a fight?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Or maybe…you're looking for the two of us to finish one," he murmured suggestively, angling his body closer to hers in the small compartment.

Rose slapped her hand onto his chest, attempting to shove him back a step. She didn't even budge him. "Back off, Malfoy."

"No, I don't think so. You seem to have the most interesting reactions when I invade your personal space," He smirked, leaning in even closer.

His lips were now mere inches from hers and Rose could not stop herself from glancing down at his mouth. She nervously wet her lips with her tongue, half afraid that he would kiss her and half afraid that he wouldn't. Her breathing had begun to accelerate and she could feel his exhalations coming more and more rapidly as his breath feathered across her skin. She had not removed her hand from his chest and his heart was pounding against her palm.

"Scorpius," she whispered, her fingers curling into a fist around his robes.

His hand cupped her chin, tilting her face towards his so that his mouth was barely a hair's width from taking hers. "I guess I have my answer," he breathed and then, suddenly, his body was gone. It took the stunned Rose a moment to comprehend what had just happened.

As he pulled away, Scorpius's hand shot out and grabbed the quill that she was still holding. "Thanks for this, by the way."

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Not anymore. See ya in September, Azalea," he quipped over his shoulder as he sauntered off down the train corridor, leaving Rose steaming with fury behind him.

* * *

It took Rose two weeks of sulking about the loss of her quill to finally break down and owl Scorpius. She sent him a very cordial letter asking him if he would please return it to her. The next morning, Scorpius's extremely rare black barn owl appeared at her bedroom window at an ungodly hour, tapping persistently on the glass until she finally dragged herself out of bed to let it in. She blearily unrolled the parchment that had been clutched in its beak and immediately noticed the conspicuous absence of her quill.

_Dearest Hyacinth,  
__No.  
__Always,  
__Scorpius__  
_

Rose growled in frustration as she glared at his fluid script. Even his handwriting was pretentious. Hastily grabbing a spare piece of parchment, she penned a reply.

_Malfoy,  
__That quill was a gift from my mother. It was quite expensive so I really must insist that you return it.  
__-Rose_

Congratulating herself on her ability to remain polite, she sent the note off with his admittedly gorgeous owl and dropped down onto her window seat to sulk. When she finally forced herself to go downstairs, she found the rest of her family gathered around the breakfast table in various stages of undress, the males hurriedly stuffing their faces with eggs, sausage, and toast. Her mother—the only one of the four who had managed to make herself presentable before breakfast—stood at the counter pouring herself a cup of tea. She turned when Rose trudged in.

"Good morning, dear. Breakfast?"

Rose grunted in assent, causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow. Her daughter was in a mood this morning. It wasn't until Hugo dragged Rose outside a few hours later to play Quidditch with their cousins that she finally snapped out of her funk and began to cheer up. Sadly, it was not to last.

* * *

The next morning, an hour before sunrise, Rose was once again awakened by incessant tapping. She groaned as she rolled out of bed to open the window for Scorpius's blasted owl. It was lucky she didn't take out her rage on poor, innocent animals or her mother's cat would be very well fed for the next several weeks. She scowled at the bird as she accepted the parchment. It merely hooted and continued to stare at her with its guileless onyx eyes.

_My Darling Amaryllis,  
__Beg.  
__Always,  
__Scorpius_

Rose instantly began tearing up the piece of parchment into as many little, teeny, tiny shreds as she possibly could. The floor was soon littered with confetti but she didn't feel any less angry. She turned to the owl, who was sitting calmly on the windowsill. "Your master is a complete and total prat. You know that?! He is the bane of my existence! I. Hate. Him. So. Goddamn. Much!"

The bird continued to stare, absorbing Rose's hysterical rant with much more grace than her owner would have.

"I mean, all he has to do is owl the damn thing back. What in Merlin's name is so difficult about that?! Huh?!" Rose grabbed onto her hair and pulled, shrieking in frustration. "I'm talking to a bird. He's officially driven me insane." This time, when she penned her reply, she made no effort whatsoever to rein in her temper.

And so began almost an entire summer of Rose and Scorpius owling insults back and forth at each other on an almost daily basis. Had either one of them stopped for a moment and considered exactly why it was that they were communicating with one another, no matter how immature and dysfunctional that means of communication may have been, they would have been thoroughly confused. Instead of avoiding each other at all costs, they were actively corresponding. This would have proven very unsettling to the pair, if they had bothered to analyze their behavior. As it was, they were too obsessed with coming up with the next truly horrible thing to say to the other to care about the logic behind their own actions.

Ultimately, after nearly two months of back and forth, Rose stooped to asking about her quill again. The following morning, the black barn owl appeared at her window with an answer that did not, for a change, send her into a fit of rage.

_Dear Goldenrod,  
__I'll give it back to you the next time I see you in person. Satisfied?  
__-Scorpius_

Finally! She immediately sent a response.

_Malfoy,  
__My dad and I will be in Diagon Alley on Saturday. Be there.  
__-Rose_

She received Scorpius's answer that evening.

_Crocus,  
__So bossy.  
__-Scorpius_

_Malfoy,  
__Please bring my quill on Saturday. I'm sure you can find an excuse to go.  
__-Rose_

_Geranium,  
__My dad and I could do with some shopping. I'll see you there.  
__-Scorpius_

Good. Rose sighed in relief. Her mother had already seen her doing homework with one of her older quills and asked where the new one was. Her hastily mumbled excuse that she had left it upstairs and this one had been handy had barely convinced Hermione, who had looked at her daughter suspiciously before shrugging and leaving her to her work. Thankfully, homework was sacred in the Granger-Weasley household and Rose knew her mother would not interrogate her when there was studying to be done. Now that Scorpius had actually agreed to return it, she wouldn't have to worry about having to explain to her mother that the quill she had painstakingly picked out and purchased for entirely too much money had been stolen by her nemesis.

Malfoy's beautiful owl settled on Rose's bedside table. By now, she had made friends with the bird and, as she read the latest brief note from Scorpius, the owl gently nuzzled her shoulder. She turned and scratched its head affectionately. As it leaned into her fingers, Rose thought that she really needed to ask Scorpius the owl's name. What was she talking about? It was the pet of her enemy. Why would she even think of asking him something so friendly?

Three more days. Three days and she would get her quill back. She skipped down to breakfast feeling excited about the day for the first time that summer. She absolutely refused to acknowledge the fact that she felt anything but a sense of dread at seeing Scorpius that weekend. She was just so happy to have her quill returned.

* * *

Saturday morning, Rose practically bounced out of bed. She was looking forward to a day with her father spent in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ron was now a partner in the business, although he generally handled very little of the day to day operations. Because Uncle George was away, however, Ron had been filling in for him at the store for the past week and a half. He had promised Rose a spectacular lunch at The Leaky Cauldron with the Longbottoms and a trip to Florean Fortescue's for ice cream afterwards. A cousin of Florean's had reopened the ice cream parlor after Florean had been murdered during the Second Wizarding War at the hands of the Death Eaters. According to her father, the new proprietor just didn't have his cousin's talent for the confectionery arts, but Rose thought that the ice cream was still the best she'd ever had.

And she would finally get her quill back from Scorpius. Finally. And if it meant that she had to see him to get it, then so be it. She would endure it somehow.

* * *

Rose saw no sign of Scorpius until it was time for her and her father to meet Neville and his family at The Leaky Cauldron for lunch. As she walked out of the front entrance to the Weasley's joke shop, Rose spotted two heads of nearly identical white-blonde hair coming out of Flourish and Blotts. It could only be Draco and Scorpius Malfoy.

Clearly, her father had noticed them as well, if his suddenly rigid posture and reddening ears were any indication. "You go on ahead, Rosie. I'll meet you at Neville's. I'm just going to finish locking up. Shouldn't take long." Rose nodded and began to make her way down the street towards the tavern.

"Well hello, Sunflower." She cringed at the sound of Scorpius's voice. He was standing a few feet away, his hair done in the same slicked back style she had seen on the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of the summer. His father stood beside him, an older, more severe version of Scorpius himself. Rose found herself looking for the subtle differences between the Malfoy men. They had different noses and different chins. Draco's face was more angular, more forbidding while Scorpius's held a great deal more mischief in its expression.

"Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy," Rose addressed them. She looked to Scorpius, hoping that he would give some indication of handing her quill over. Instead, he just stood there, his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed, as if daring her to mention it. "What a _pleasant_ surprise. What did I _ever_ do to deserve it?" she asked, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You'd better watch out today, Gladiolus. It's awfully sunny. With your skin, you're likely to turn the same shade as your hair in minutes. No one wants to see that," Scorpius commented.

Her eyes narrowed. So he wanted to start something in front of his father? That was fine by her. She opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the very angry voice of her father. "Malfoy, it's just like you to stand by and watch as a woman is being harassed. Or _tortured_."

Draco visibly paled. "Don't you think it's time we moved on from that? It's been over two decades. And from where I stand, _Weasley_, your daughter is doing just as much harassing as my son."

"My daughter wants nothing to do with your son!"

Taking advantage of the distraction provided by their bickering fathers, Scorpius leaned closer to Rose. "Try and slip away later. Meet me behind your Uncle's shop."

"And what makes you think I'd want to do that?" she whispered back, her eyes flickering back and forth between his face and the escalating conflict taking place in front of her.

"I think you already know the answer," Scorpius answered with a cocky grin.

Their fathers' argument was getting more and more heated and had started to draw the attention of some of their fellow pedestrians. Finally, they both seemed to snap out of it, seething. They glared at one another, neither willing to back down until Ron seemed to remember the presence of his daughter.

"Let's go, Rosie," he barked. "We'll leave the Malfoys to their _shopping_." With that, he turned, striding off down the street, his shoulders squared.

Draco had turned on his heel and was rapidly heading in the other direction, a look of pure rage plastered across his features. "Come, Scorpius," he called back to his son.

"See you later, Marigold," Scorpius quipped before following his father down the street.

Rose shook her head, resolved that she would _not _be meeting up with him but knowing, even as she made that silent promise, she was lying to herself.

* * *

After telling her father that she was just going to run down to Madam Malkin's to have a look at the new fashions for the upcoming fall—something she knew he would have no interest in—Rose walked out the front door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She scanned the street to make sure that no one was looking in her direction before quickly slipping into the alleyway that led to the back of the store. She turned the corner to see Scorpius leaning against the side of the building, his hands tucked casually into the front pockets of his slacks.

When he saw her, he raised an eyebrow. "Took you long enough. You know, Lily, for a second there I almost didn't think you'd show up."

"Okay, that one is _definitely_ not alright. Lily's my cousin's name."

Scorpius winced. "Shit. Sorry, I forgot about that. How about Daffodil?" he amended.

"How about _Rose_?"

Scorpius tilted his head as if considering the idea. "Nope, that one's not as fun."

"Prick." Rose rolled her eyes before grabbing onto the back of his neck and pulling his lips down to hers.

"You know, I think you're starting to kind of like the nicknames," Scorpius mumbled against her mouth.

"No, I'm just trying to get you to _shut the hell up_," Rose retorted, pushing him back until his shoulders hit the brick wall behind him.

"Uh huh. Likely story."

"Scor?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"_Shut up_."

She felt him smile before he reversed their positions, pinning her to the wall with his hips and sliding his tongue into her mouth. He stroked his hands firmly down her sides, making her shiver in excitement. When he pulled one of her legs up to wrap around his hip, giving him full access to her core, Rose threw her head back and groaned. The contact was exquisite torture. She couldn't get him close enough fast enough.

Rose pulled her lips from Scorpius's, making her way down his throat and across his collarbone so that she could kiss her way down his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt. He moaned when her mouth swept over his nipple, her tongue laving around one before nipping across the broad expanse of skin with its light dusting of hair to the other. When she gently bit down on the hard, flat disk he responded by shoving her panties aside and plunging two fingers into her silky, wet heat. She gasped, grasping at his hair, trailing her fingers through the now messy locks, and dragging his mouth back to hers.

Scorpius was panting heavily as he drove Rose further and further towards her peak. The little mewls of pleasure she was making were driving him insane with lust. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He unbuttoned his trousers with one hand, desperately freeing his erection, and thrust into her, joining them together.

For a brief moment, they both stilled, relishing the contact. Then, he began moving inside of her and Rose began wildly undulating her hips to meet every powerful stroke. They both surrendered themselves over to the waves of sheer, unadulterated pleasure that being locked around one another sent through their systems.

* * *

When they had finally managed to regulate their breathing enough to be able to return their clothing and hair to some semblance of order, Rose turned to Scorpius. "I believe you have something for me?"

Scorpius turned to look at her, an overly-exaggerated expression of confusion on his face. "Didn't I just give you three? Let's not get greedy, Dahlia."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "My quill, Malfoy."

He smirked, making Rose long to slap that ridiculously arrogant grin off of his face. "Fine, fine. Relax. It's right here." He pulled the quill from the back pocket of his slacks, smoothing the feathers before handing it over to Rose with a mock bow. "Here you are, Milady."

Rose's lips twitched but she managed to keep a straight face.

"It really is a beautiful quill," he commented. "Custom engraving?"

"Yeah. My mother gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday. Apparently sixteen is a big deal in the muggle world. 'Sweet Sixteen,' they call it."

"Huh. I thought muggles came of-age at eighteen."

"They do. From the sound of it, Sweet Sixteen is just an excuse for girls to throw a huge party."

"Maybe we should adopt the tradition," Scorpius suggested.

"Hmm." After a moment of silence, Rose succumbed to her curiosity. "What's your owl's name?"

Scorpius looked surprised. "My owl?"

Rose nodded.

"Sage. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. We've just been seeing a lot of each other and I thought I should know her name."

"Okay..." Scorpius trailed off.

They stood silently, the tension in the air rapidly rebuilding itself to its usual level whenever the two of them were in close proximity.

Finally Scorpius spoke. "Well, come on Gardenia," he drawled. "Don't I even get a thank you?"

"For what?"

He gestured to the quill that she still had clutched in her hand.

"For returning the quill that you _stole_ from me? _Seriously?"_ Rose asked, exasperated.

"Yeah. I could have just kept it you know." The self-important grin was back.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Thank you," she quipped sarcastically.

"Come on. I think I deserve a little more than that." Scorpius stalked closer and closer to her until he had backed her into the red brick wall. He caged her in, with his hands planted firmly on either side of her head, and leaned in. "Now let's try this again," he whispered against her lips.

Unable to resist, Rose tilted her face up to his, sliding her tongue into his mouth and savoring the growl that she was able to draw from him. Before he could sink too far into her, however, Rose broke off the kiss, ducked beneath his arm, and sauntered away. She glanced back over her shoulder to see a still-grinning Scorpius, once again leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets.

"Goodbye, Malfoy," she called back to him.

"See you soon, Hibiscus."

* * *

**Holy crap, I used a lot of flower names in this chapter. If I'm not careful I'm going to run out. As it is, I've gone through about three-quarters of the ones I can think of. If you have any suggestions of flowers that Scorpius can use, please let me know. It'll save me the research into obscure flower names. **

**The next chapter is..."Miss Me?" I can't promise that it will be up as soon as usual since I have a pretty busy weekend ahead and I've barely started writing it, but I will do my very best. Hope to see you next time! **


	9. Miss Me?

**Author's Note: As I suspected, my weekend was crazy and I just couldn't find the time to finish writing this chapter. Plus, I find that writing smut takes me way longer than anything else since I am so new to it. It's harder than it looks, that's for sure. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I really hope you like it.**

**And by the way, we are officially 1/3 of the way through this story! It's crazy! ****That means that we're about halfway to catching up with the Prologue, for those of you who were wondering. **If I keep posting at this rate, it'll be over in no time. Okay, that kind of made me sad. Maybe I should start coming up with ideas for other fics...

**Thank you so much to those of you who gave me suggestions for flower names. You've definitely given me some that I hadn't considered, which means that Scorpius will have much more fun as the story progresses! As always, please let me know what you think. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback/encouragement/questions you all give me. It really means a lot.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Miss Me?**

The rest of the summer went by with very little contact between Rose and Scorpius. They were both still completely convinced that they absolutely hated one another and, without the excuse of the stolen quill to justify their correspondence, only the occasional insult managed to arrive by owl. Aside from those sporadic communications, they did a very good job of pretending that the other did not even exist.

In the final weeks of the summer holidays, both Rose and Scorpius had managed to talk themselves into believing that what had happened between them in that alley had meant absolutely nothing. It had been a moment of weakness. They had both been angry and had pushed each other just a little bit too far, until they had finally snapped. And because of what had happened in the broom closet the week before exams, their bodies had decided to relieve the tension in a way that was proven to be pleasurable for both. It was an instinct, and one that completely defied any rational explanation. Plus, hormones. All those uncontrollable teenage hormones. It had been a mistake.

* * *

On last night of August, Rose finished packing up her trunk for her final year at Hogwarts. She wished she could have been enjoying the last day at home before her return to the castle—could have concentrated on nostalgic thoughts about what would be the end of her schooling—but she couldn't stop herself from brooding over having to see Scorpius again. It was certain to be awkward. They had now shared two hurried couplings and she knew that, when she saw him again, she was going to feel a substantial amount of regret.

Rose didn't even know how it had happened. She had met him behind the joke shop with the sole purpose of getting her quill back—okay, and maybe she had wanted to throw in a few verbal attacks while she had the chance. She had _never_ intended to have sex with him. How in Merlin's name had _that_ happened? One second she was angry with him for calling her by her cousin's name and the next…he was giving her that insufferable _look_ and she hadn't been able to stop herself from jumping him.

What had she been thinking? At least the first time they had had the excuse of being exhausted and stressed beyond sanity by their rapidly approaching exams. The second time was more difficult to explain away. While it had been easy enough to ignore the fact that she had made an enormous error in judgment when she was at home during the summer holidays, Rose knew that once she was back at Hogwarts she would be forced to confront her mistake. And knowing Scorpius, he would rub it in her face while wearing that infuriatingly arrogant smirk on his own.

One thing was for sure, though. She was going to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy from now on. That disgusting pig of a Slytherin was never going to lay a finger on her again. No matter how many fights they got into, or how many times she found herself cornered, Rose would not let him touch her again.

…No matter how incredible it had felt when he had…

No! She hated him. He was her enemy. It would not be happening again. Ever.

* * *

Scorpius entered through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, with his parents following close behind him. He was very much looking forward to his final year at Hogwarts. Later curfew, classes he genuinely cared about, and—after this year—he would be able to enter the training program to become a Healer. He would have the chance to do some good in the wizarding world. And, _finally,_ he would be able to make a reputation for himself that did not suffer from the heavy burden that being a Malfoy inevitably bestowed. He loved his father, he just needed to be somewhere that did not judge him for his last name long before he could demonstrate his own character. He loved Hogwarts, but it could be a pressure cooker of long-held grudges and generations worth of emotional baggage.

The only thing that he was dreading about this year was Rose Weasley. She was the single, roaring thunderstorm marring his otherwise perfectly sunny outlook. He had no idea why they had done what they had done in Diagon Alley over the summer. He had merely meant to lure her behind her uncle's shop so that he could torment her—before returning her quill of course. He wasn't a complete monster.

The moment she appeared, however, all he could think about was getting her lips on his, and her body plastered to his, as quickly and completely as possible. And then somehow, they had been kissing. The part in between was still fuzzy. It seemed like the part between fighting with Rose and desperately trying to rip Rose's clothes off was always a bit fuzzy for Scorpius.

That didn't matter, though. Because he was never going to find himself in that situation again. Rose had this infuriating way of completely frying his brain and rendering him incapable of even the simplest logic. He would just have to stay away from her. From now on, he would avoid her at all costs…unless of course he needed a good verbal sparring match. And even then, only when there were plenty of witnesses. He couldn't risk any repeats of their last few encounters and, although he had no intention of succumbing to whatever pull she seemed to have on him, Scorpius had a feeling that his self-control was not up to the task of keeping his libido reined in where a certain fiery redhead was concerned. He was a teenage boy, after all. It was only to be expected.

And, of course, just as he was thinking about her, Rose's bushy red mane of hair appeared halfway down the platform. Speak of the devil; the devil appears. He quickly spun away from where she was standing with her family, resolving to completely ignore her presence. When the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle a few moments later, he congratulated himself for not turning around to meet the bottomless cerulean eyes that were undoubtedly trained in his direction.

* * *

Unfortunately for both Rose and Scorpius, their determination to avoid each other entirely did not even last through dinner. As everyone was seated in the Great Hall waiting for the Sorting to begin, Rose found her gaze being inescapably drawn across the room to the Slytherin table where a certain white-blonde head was currently sitting. A few moments later, as the Sorting Hat was placed on the first new student's head, Scorpius felt an overwhelming urge to turn his head toward the Gryffindor table, and the figure at the center of the sea of Weasley/Potters.

Halfway through the Sorting ceremony, their eyes finally connected. In that instant, every excuse and rationalization they had attempted to use to convince themselves that there was absolutely nothing between them but a series of ridiculously stupid and unbelievably insane mistakes was proven to be horribly inaccurate.

Scorpius's stomach clenched, Rose's pulse skittered and her spine tingled, and it felt as if the entire room had somehow narrowed down to just the two of them. Neither one of them seemed able to break eye contact. They sat there, their gazes locked, for what seemed like an eternity. They both startled when McGonagall's shrill voice announced the start of the feast, wrenching their eyes away from one another and attempting to erase the feelings that brief moment of contact had aroused.

Merlin, he wanted her. Scorpius had been fooling himself into thinking that he would be able to just move on, pretending that he had never been inside of her. Sure, Rose was annoying as hell. She pissed him off like no one else and, frankly, he just couldn't stand the girl. But the way she could make his body feel. He wanted that again—as soon as was humanly possible.

He found himself seeking out her gaze again and again during the meal, and catching it again and again. And each and every time he felt the same unstoppable, lurching sensation of lust rush through every fiber of his being. If the increasingly prominent rise and fall of her chest as her breathing hitched was any indication, Rose was feeling it too. By the time dessert had magically appeared on the table in front of him, Scorpius felt as if his pants were suddenly two sizes too tight—and not because he had gorged himself on the banquet spread out before him. He had barely been able to get any of the undoubtedly delicious food down. He had been way too distracted.

Suddenly, everyone was moving. McGonagall had announced that the feast was over and it was time for bed. He had completely lost track of time. What was she doing to him?

That was it. He couldn't stand this anymore. Scorpius reached into his pocket, grabbing a tattered piece of parchment and his quill. He hastily scribbled a few brief words before standing up and bolting towards the doors.

* * *

As Rose was exiting the hall, along with her brother and cousins, she couldn't help but look back one more time at the Slytherin table. Scorpius was gone. Good. She had no idea why she hadn't been able to stop herself from trying to get one last sight of him, but she did not like it. And this tightness in her chest because he wasn't still there was absolutely not disappointment. It was relief.

Abruptly, Rose was jostled by a figure shoving its way through the queue of students filing out of the Great Hall. She frowned in confusion as she felt someone press something into her palm before shoving her again. She looked up at Scorpius, narrowing her eyes and growling, "Malfoy, why don't you watch where you're going?"

"Welcome back, Sweet Pea," he smirked. "You ready for another year of me?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I see you haven't up and died over the summer. Pity, that."

"Oh, I don't know. I think you'd miss me." With that, Scorpius disappeared once again, enveloped in the swarming crowd of students.

Rose fingered the parchment he had slipped her, curious, but thought better of opening it here. Instead, she quietly snuck it into her pocket so that she could read it once she was safely up in her dorm. For the moment, she pushed the note and its mysterious contents from her mind and resumed conversation with her cousins as they made their way up the many flights of stairs to the Gryffindor common room.

An hour later, when she was finally alone, Rose opened Scorpius's letter. Inside, in his clearly rushed, but somehow still elegant, handwriting it read:

_Astronomy Tower. Tonight. 11 pm. -S_

A pleasant chill shot down Rose's spine as she read his words. She checked the time. 9:50. That meant that she had fifty minutes before she had to leave to meet him.

Wait. No. What was she talking about? She didn't want to meet him. She wasn't going to meet him. She was going to change and get ready for bed. She was tired and she had to get up early for classes the next morning. He was just going to have to deal with the fact that she was not going to show up.

* * *

Fifty five minutes later, Rose was still cursing herself as she hid just inside an empty classroom while she waited for Filch to pass by on his nightly rounds. She swore that man never slept. He just endlessly wandered the school searching for students he could punish. She was half tempted to make a noise so that he would find her. At least being caught by Filch would keep her from the colossal mistake that she was about to make. It might be worth the detention. Still, she kept silent, barely breathing until the aged caretaker's shuffling footsteps receded and the coast was clear.

Rose carefully tiptoed out of the classroom and made her way across the school towards the Astronomy Tower. Why was she doing this? She had made it perfectly clear to herself that there was no way that she would let Scorpius Malfoy anywhere near her again. And yet, here she was, on her way to what was undoubtedly a late night booty call. She highly doubted that he had covertly passed her a note to meet him so that they could discuss what they would be learning in their Transfiguration class the following morning.

When she reached the steps leading up to the Astronomy Tower, Rose paused. Okay, last chance to change her mind. She really needed to just turn around and make her way back to Gryffindor Tower, and her nice, warm bed. Go to sleep and pretend that this had never happened. Scorpius would get the message and everything would go back to normal. They could just continue on as mortal enemies and forget that this whole mess had ever existed.

It took until Rose was halfway up the staircase to realize that she had not in fact turned around. Quite the opposite. She was now steadily climbing towards the last place in the world that she should be. When she finally reached the top, she paused, taking a steadying breath before pushing the door open and stepping out into the crisp night air.

Rose gasped as a pair of strong hands grasped her waist and pulled her into a warm, firm chest. Before she even had a chance to draw breath, Scorpius had crushed his mouth to hers, swallowing her startled cry. His touch quickly made her forget the anguished debate that had been raging through her consciousness. With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his body forward until it was completely flush with hers.

* * *

Scorpius's breath caught in his throat at the contact and he immediately shoved her backward, pushing her against the wall encircling the top of the tower. He lifted her effortlessly, sitting her down on the cool stone of the crenel and stepping between her now parted legs, his mouth still devouring hers. He placed his hands on the bare flesh of her knees, slowly sliding them upwards until his fingertips brushed the tops of her thighs.

Scorpius pulled back suddenly, realizing that she wasn't wearing any panties underneath her uniform skirt. He gaped at her, astonished, while she merely smiled coyly. He growled as he ran his hands inwards, tracing the smooth, delicate skin at the apex of her thighs. No underwear. Just naked skin. _Merlin._

"Merlin, Rose. Are you trying to kill me?" he hissed in an almost pleading tone.

"I didn't see the point," she whispered into his ear, tilting her mouth up so she could catch his earlobe between her teeth.

He groaned in response, using his grip on her thighs to pull her body closer and compel her to wrap her legs around his waist. She complied, folding herself around him and returning her mouth to his.

"Now, Scor," she murmured against his lips, stroking her hands down his chest to tug urgently at his belt.

"Now," he agreed, quickly freeing himself and sliding home.

Rose threw her head back as he bottomed out inside of her, bracing her hands on the stone beneath her and biting her lip to keep from screaming out in satisfaction. _Oh_, he felt incredible. Why did he have to feel so incredible? And when he started to move?

He pushed her to crest after crest until, finally, he joined her and they both melted into each other, boneless, completely sated. Scorpius dropped his head to the crook of her neck, his breathing ragged as he attempted to regain his composure.

Rose's fingers slipped from his sweat-slickened shoulders and she let out a breathless laugh. "Do you think we're ever going to manage to do this horizontally?"

He smiled into her skin as his hands, once again, began to roam. "Are you saying that there are going to be more incidents like this?"

Rose sighed, arching into the hand that had crept under her shirt and was steadily making its way up her ribcage. "I'd say no, but our record would seem to contradict that. Might as well just admit it," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat as his fingers skimmed across her hardened nipple.

Scorpius grinned. "Welcome to reality, Magnolia."

"I hate you. I really, _really_ hate you."

"Ditto, baby."

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter is..."Addiction." It should be posted either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when I finish it.**


	10. Addiction

**Author's Note: Okay, here's the next chapter. Again, there is plenty of smut in this one, which is why it's taken me a little longer to write. I'm just not that comfortable with it yet. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon.**

**By the way, thank you to the 2 reviewers who caught my mistake in the last chapter. Little slips like that drive me nuts and I guess I missed it in my rush to post something for you guys. I always proofread my work but I must not have been paying close enough attention. I really appreciate the careful reading!**

**A guest reviewer also mentioned that it would be impossible for Scorpius to call Rose by flower names for 6 years and not repeat some of them. They also said that it could be fun to have him repeat certain flowers. This is exactly what I am planning on happening. He will start repeating some of them as their relationship develops, depending on his mood but, for the moment, I want them all to be different. I am sure he had used some of these numerous times but I think it's more fun for me to use as many different names as possible. If you want to catch all of the repeats later on, I would suggest going back and reminding yourself of the flowers he uses during their most important moments. Thank you for your observations, Arcoiris. I'm sure that there are many other readers who have been wondering the same thing. I hope everyone is enjoying the flowers as much as I am!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Addiction**

The next two and a half weeks passed quickly for Rose and Scorpius. After their encounter on top of the Astronomy Tower, both had finally resigned themselves to the fact that they wanted one another. Badly. They couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other. This didn't mean that they had suddenly started getting along, quite the opposite in fact. The sexual tension had just painted itself—in a very thick coat—over the already constantly simmering rivalry between the two.

Now, every time they shot a glare in the other's direction, or sent an insult flying across the room, they couldn't help but associate the increase in friction with the way they had been taking that conflict out on one another as of late. Arguing had become a prelude to sex in their minds and they were having a hard time ignoring the ever-present lust that seemed to haunt them whenever they were in close proximity.

The one thing that they were both sure had not changed, however, was that they hated each other. This whole shagging each other's brains out in broom closets and abandoned classrooms thing was just another aspect to their hostile relationship. Besides, they could both do with a way to relieve some stress now that they were in their NEWT year.

Sneaking off to closets and classrooms became an almost daily occurrence. Scorpius would frequently pass Rose a note telling her to meet him on top of the Astronomy Tower, or someplace on the grounds, and she would reciprocate with her own inventive hiding places. Thanks to the Marauder's Map, which Rose had slipped from Albus's trunk one evening while he was out on a date, there was no shortage of rendezvous spots. She didn't think that her cousin had noticed the map missing yet, but she knew that she would have to be careful to keep him from finding out that she was the one who had taken it. It would raise far too many questions that she was not prepared to answer.

Scorpius was very quickly becoming addicted to the way that being with Rose made him feel. Everything seemed to slip away when he was inside her. He just couldn't seem to get enough of that feeling. Obviously, she felt the same way. Her body was so responsive to his every touch and Scorpius found that he was beginning to become reliant upon their stolen moments in abandoned parts of the castle. She still pissed him off more frequently and more intensely than anyone he had ever known, but she was one hell of a good shag. He was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

* * *

One afternoon in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Rose found herself a bit distracted. She was supposed to be focusing on dueling with Nathaniel Wood but her concentration kept slipping. Scorpius was on the other side of the room, practicing counter-jinxes with his partner, Oliver Swott, and with him in her sightline, Rose just couldn't seem to keep all of her attention on what she was supposed to be doing. The fact that Scorpius's gaze was also sliding to hers on a regular basis was definitely not helping.

A flash of light ripped Rose's focus back to the duel she was taking part in and she barely managed to slice her wand through the air and repel the nonverbal spell that Nathaniel had sent her way. The spell bounced off of her shield and went careening off across the room, straight at Scorpius. Rose gasped as he was knocked off of his feet and slammed into the row of desks behind him.

As he slowly got to his feet, shaking his head in an attempt to fight the dizziness, Scorpius turned his furious gaze upon Rose. His eyes sparked with rage and the muscles in his jaw were clenched. He was definitely angry.

The entire class fell silent as Scorpius began his menacing prowl across the classroom towards the redhead who was now standing with her feet apart and shoulders squared in preparation for whatever attack he might mount in retaliation. Professor Fenwick looked as if he wanted to hurry forward and put a stop to whatever was about to take place, but the look on Scorpius's face seemed to give even him pause.

"What the hell was that for, Aster?" Scorpius snarled.

"Believe it or not, Malfoy, that one was actually an accident. I was distracted." Rose answered honestly, her tone casual but her words communicating to the looming blonde in front of her just what had been distracting her.

Recognition flickered across Scorpius's icy grey eyes before he narrowed them again. "You might want to be more careful when it comes to these little _accidents_ of yours. One of these days you may not survive the consequences."

Rose's eyes flashed and Scorpius felt his stomach clench with desire in response. There was nothing more magnificent than Rose Weasley when he got her fired up.

"Was that a threat, Malfoy?" she growled.

"Oh, I don't make threats, Hellebore. You should know that by now." Scorpius had moved closer during their argument so that he currently towered over her. Their gazes were locked and their breathing was harsh. Rose could feel the gusts of his warm breath brushing over her face as he leaned in close. They both felt a surge of hunger for something that would definitely not be appropriate in this particular setting.

Rose and Scorpius both sensed the shift in the tension between them and immediately began reeling themselves in. Clearing her throat, Rose attempted to redirect the argument, pulling them away from more dangerous territory.

"Hellebore? What do you do, sit alone in your room at night with an encyclopedia of botany, looking up names of flowers that you can call me? Isn't that just a _little_ pathetic, Malfoy?"

Scorpius changed gears, quickly and easily following her lead. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with being informed, especially since I'm taking Herbology. And it is so worth it to see just how quickly I can piss you off. You need to get some thicker skin there, Heliotrope."

Rose opened her mouth to respond but it seemed that Professor Fenwick had managed to find his voice. "I think it would be best if we ended today's lesson a little early. Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, if you would please step away from one another and go on with your days?"

Both students' heads snapped in the direction of their professor and he gulped at the intensity of their gazes. When they turned away from each other and began to gather their things, Fenwick let out a sigh of relief. Rose couldn't help but think that, for a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, he was really quite timid. Granted, she and Scorpius intimidated some of the more stalwart teachers at the school, but still. If you were too afraid to break up what hadn't even been one of their more heated confrontations, you probably shouldn't be teaching students how to survive an attack from a dark wizard.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Scorpius looking her way. She could still feel the desire for him simmering in her veins and the barely controlled heat of his expression caused her breath to hitch in her throat. He held her gaze for an instant more before turning and walking out of the classroom.

Rose took a deep breath. She knew what that expression meant. He wanted her and he wasn't going to be satisfied until he had her. For that matter, she probably wasn't going to be able to think about anything else but him for the rest of the day if she couldn't let off some of this pressure. Glancing around her, Rose slipped out of the room and headed in the direction that Scorpius had gone a few moments earlier.

When she rounded the corner, a hand shot out and grabbed ahold of Rose's wrist, dragging her into a broom closet. Familiar by now with the logistics of these particular cramped spaces, Rose maneuvered her body against the wall while simultaneously pressing herself closer to Scorpius.

His mouth was on hers before she had a chance to speak, punishing her lips with the intensity of his kisses. She gasped as his hands shoved her robes to the floor and pulled her shirt open with such force that he sent a few buttons scattering.

"Scor!" she scolded before moaning as his mouth descended to envelop the flesh of her breast.

"Merlin, Rose. I am so turned on right now," he murmured as he licked his way across her flesh. She whimpered as he bit down on her nipple, her desperation rising.

She needed to get to skin. She tore at his clothing, pushing it out of her way so that she could run her hands over the taut planes of his back. He groaned as he felt the prick of her nails, the pain adding just another layer to the intensity of the moment.

Scorpius plunged his hands under Rose's skirt, tearing her panties away and sliding his fingers into her warmth. She threw her head back, barely noticing as it banged into the wall behind her because now his lips were on her throat and his fingers were doing something amazing inside of her, their movements sending ripples of pleasure throughout her entire body.

She regained enough sense to tug at his belt, freeing him and firmly stroking her hand up and down his rigid length. It was Scorpius's turn to be overwhelmed with pleasure and, for a second, he was sure that his knees would give out. But then, she was guiding him between her spread thighs, lining him up with her opening, and he was sinking into her slick heat.

* * *

When she had managed to regain the ability to speak, Rose turned to Scorpius. His face was still flushed from their coupling, his hair was a mess, and he was looking at her with a satisfied smirk turning up the corners of his kiss-swollen lips. If she didn't feel just as smug and satisfied as he looked, she would have hated him for it.

She took a deep breath. "If this is going to keep happening, I think we need to give ourselves some guidelines. Or at least try and define exactly what it is that we're doing."

"Okay. What did you have in mind?" he asked, a wary expression on his face.

"This is just sex. We don't like each other. We're not friends, so we can't even be 'friends with benefits.' Just sex. Got it?"

"Absolutely. No attachments, no emotions. Just sex."

"Good."

"And no one can know about this."

"Oh, God no. We can't let anyone find out. That would be disastrous."

"Glad we're on the same page."

Scorpius's eyes drifted down to focus on Rose's mouth. Despite the fact that he had been completely sated mere minutes ago, he could already feel himself beginning to harden again.

"Rose," he whispered, lowering his face to hers and pressing their foreheads together as his breathing began to get heavier.

"Why is it you only call me Rose when you're inside me, or about to be?"

"Because my brain loses almost all ability to function when I'm inside you, or about to be."

"Good enough for me." Rose tipped her head back, connecting their mouths as she grabbed onto Scorpius's hair to bring him closer.

"Just sex," he murmured into her mouth.

She nodded before hitching herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and impaling herself on his hard length. She let out a satisfied groan. "Just sex."

* * *

A few days later, Rose and Scorpius met on the seventh floor at half past eleven. They hadn't managed to find the time to be together since they had laid down the rules about the nature of their relationship and both felt their bodies humming with anticipation as soon as they saw each other.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked once she reached him.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking the Astronomy Tower but the temperature dropped way too much to be comfortable up there."

Rose nodded. "Well, come on. Let's just find an empty room or something." She turned on her heel and made her way down the corridor.

At the first door they reached, Rose pulled Scorpius inside, immediately finding his mouth with hers and wrapping herself around him. It had been far too long since they had last done this. She felt like she was going to explode.

Scorpius's hands were under her shirt and hers were working on his belt when they heard a noise.

"I'll take the rooms on this end of the hallway, you take that end," a distant voice called out.

Rose pulled back, looking at Scorpius with wide eyes. "Prefects," she hissed. She reached into her robes and pulled out the Marauder's Map. "It's Anita Summers," Rose told him when she identified the dot rapidly moving towards their hiding place. "We can't let her see us. She's a notorious gossip."

Scorpius nodded, turning his head to look down at the map. "We've gotta move." He grabbed Rose's wrist and hauled her out the door.

They raced down the corridor as quietly as possible, glancing down at the map every so often to check the prefects' positions. Suddenly, another dot appeared and started heading towards them from the opposite direction of Anita.

"Fuck!" Scorpius snarled. "This is not good." He screeched to a stop, halting Rose with him. He frantically took in their surroundings but there was nothing there besides an old tapestry of an idiotic wizard teaching trolls ballet. They were trapped.

Rose wanted to scream in frustration. She plunged her fingers into her hair and began pacing back and forth in agitation. "We can't let this get out. Maybe if we pretend that we're fighting?"

Scorpius looked her up and down, taking note of the hickey forming on her throat and her well-kissed appearance. "You don't look like you've been fighting."

She shot him a look of disdain. "We need somewhere to hide. We need…" She trailed off as a pair of doors materialized in the wall behind her.

Scorpius looked at her in astonishment before grabbing onto her arm and pulling her through the doors, closing them inside.

They stood in darkness for a moment before the room became illuminated by torches mounted on the walls. It wasn't a very large space, but it was clearly out of place in a corridor filled with classrooms. Directly in front of them was an enormous canopy bed, its sheer drapes falling around an intricately carved wooden frame and enclosing what appeared to be a luxurious feather bed.

"What is this place?" Scorpius asked, turning around in a slow circle to take in all of the sumptuous furnishings that were lining the elegant bedroom.

"It must be the Room of Requirement. My parents told me about this place. It becomes exactly what you need it to be, whenever you need it." Rose looked around in wonder.

"Can we be found in here?" he asked, nervously looking back at the doors behind him.

Rose shook her head. "Not unless whoever is looking for us knows exactly what we asked to find this place. The adults in my family always refused to tell any of us where it was located. Probably so that we wouldn't be tempted to use it for inappropriate things."

"You mean like what we're about to do?"

Rose grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

Later, as they lay among the tangled silk sheets, Scorpius noticed a large burn mark in the corner of the room. It was partially concealed by the wall hangings but was still quite apparent. "I wonder what happened there?"

Rose turned her head to examine the area he was pointing out. Now that she was looking more carefully, she could see that there were several areas in the room that looked a little worse for the wear. "It must be from the Fiendfyre. During the Battle of Hogwarts. My parents and Uncle Harry were in here. So was your father, actually. And Goyle's father, and Crabbe—another Slytherin. Crabbe tried to kill Harry and my parents with cursed fire but he couldn't control it and it killed him. My dad always wondered if the Room survived. I guess now we have proof it did."

Scorpius was now looking at her with cautious interest. "How did the rest of them get out?"

"My dad and Uncle Harry grabbed broomsticks and saved your dad and Goyle. It's one of the few stories about that battle they're actually willing to tell." She told him, averting her eyes and concentrating on running her fingers up and down his arm.

"Do you know what my dad was doing in there in the first place?" Scorpius asked, his voice making it clear that he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear her response.

Rose merely nodded, the answer evident in her expression. Scorpius closed his eyes, too ashamed of his family's past to hold her gaze.

"Hey," Rose whispered, sitting up so that she could see his face better. "It's not your fault, you know." She gently ran her thumbs across his eyebrows, smoothing away the frown lines that had etched themselves there.

Scorpius looked up at her, unmistakable sorrow in his smoky grey eyes. With a reassuring smile, Rose leaned down, capturing his lips with hers and sinking into his warmth. He ran his hands gently down her sides as she hovered above him, causing her to sigh into his mouth.

She pulled back, stroking her hands over him, and pressing gentle kisses to his cheek, his jaw, his throat and, finally, right above his heart. Scorpius whimpered, diving his fingers into her hair and caressing her scalp as she moved lower, scraping her teeth over his abdomen.

Rose looked up to see that Scorpius had his eyes closed. His breathing had become labored and she smiled at the fact that she had been able to take his mind off of the pain he had been feeling moments ago. She returned her mouth to his skin, slowly sliding up his body until she could straddle him.

His body bowed back as she sank down onto him and his hands glided down her body, over her breasts and stomach, to settle on her hips. He began to gently guide her motions as she rode him, setting a slow and steady pace. Scorpius looked up at her as she undulated against him. Her wild scarlet curls were haloing her head, the light from the flickering torches filtering through the silky strands and framing her face in a soft red glow.

He felt himself nearing his peak and slid his hands up the smooth curve of her spine, cupping her neck and pulling her down to him so that he could slide his tongue into her mouth. The soft touches and tender kisses drove them closer and closer to their peaks. They came together, the slow, gradual crescendo culminating in a quiet explosion that melted its way through their bodies before floating them weightlessly back down to earth.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius lay side by side, making sure not to touch, their bodies rigid.

"What the hell was that?" Rose demanded in a shaky voice.

"I have no idea."

"We can't do that again." Rose jumped out of the bed, frantically grasping for the articles of her clothing that were scattered across the floor while keeping the large expanse of the bed between them.

"Absolutely not. That was _not_ part of the deal." Scorpius sounded just as stunned as she felt. He too had risen from the bed and was now pulling on his pants, carefully avoiding any eye contact.

"I think this is a sign that we should stop this. It was a bad idea from the start."

"We should just forget about it. We've probably gotten it out of our systems anyway."

"Good point. Now we can just move on." Rose pulled her shirt over her head and quickly swirled her robes around her shoulders.

"Sounds good to me. We can go back to hating each other, the way it should be."

"We never stopped hating each other," she shot back.

"True. Well, Jasmine, it's been fun."

"Prat." She moved to the doorway, pulling it open. Before she stepped through, however, she turned around, looking at Scorpius one last time. "Goodbye, Malfoy."

"Goodbye, Rose," Scorpius responded, catching her gaze with his own. Their eyes locked for a moment before Rose broke the contact, slipped out into the corridor, and was gone.

* * *

**Uh oh...I guess it wasn't just sex after all! Time for a major Rose/Scorpius freak out. That should be fun to write :)**

**The next chapter is..."Withdrawal." That one should be up in the next couple of days. I have it about 1/3 of the way done. Hope to see you next time!**


	11. Withdrawal

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! I had a lot of fun writing the fight for this one. Scorpius is just so bad. He really does love pushing Rose's buttons. Last chapter, one of my guest reviewers, boundtobite, wondered if there was one thing about Rose that really turned Scorpius on - like her hair for instance. Here's the answer: it's when her eyes flash when he makes her angry. If you look back over the chapters when he kisses her, there is usually a mention of her eyes flashing. He loves the way she looks when he is challenging her and she pushes right back. That light in her eyes really gets to him, which is one of the reasons he was so shaken by her right after Goyle's attack. Her eyes didn't have that fire in them.**

**Also...I was really missing Albus so he makes an appearance towards the end of this chapter. He's so much fun to write. He seems to just flow out of my head in a way that no other character does. It's funny how that happens sometimes.**

**So now the relationship between Scorpius and Rose is starting to shift...and they're not exactly comfortable with that. Some more denial, a lot of rationalization, and two very grumpy attitudes this chapter. Don't worry though, we're getting there!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Withdrawal**

For the next few days, Rose couldn't seem to get her mind off of what had happened between her and Scorpius. They had gone from constantly fighting to constantly shagging so quickly that she just couldn't wrap her head around it. And then there was that night in the Room of Requirement. What had happened? It was supposed to be just sex. It _was_ just sex. But then Rose had seen the look on his face when she was telling him the story of the skirmish that had happened in that very room between their parents and she just couldn't help herself. She wanted to wipe that sorrow away and replace it with pleasure.

But why? Since when did she care if Scorpius was miserable? They were enemies. In fact, she had spent the better part of the last six years doing her very best to _make_ him miserable. What had changed? She didn't have feelings for him. That _definitely _wasn't it. She had just wanted to cheer him up. She had been right. It wasn't his fault. He hadn't even been born yet. Why should he feel guilty for something that his father—

Wait, _what_?! Rose had never hesitated to throw his father's Death Eater days in Scorpius's face before. What the hell was wrong with her? When had she started to see Scorpius as his own person, separated from his family's wrongdoings? When had she forgiven him for the transgressions his ancestors had committed against her family, and the wizarding world in general?

It was a good thing that they had decided to stop. Clearly, having sex with Scorpius on a regular basis was warping her mind. The simple physical act was one thing, but Rose should have known that it wouldn't be as simple as just sex. Nothing was ever simple when it came to her and Scorpius. Because, despite the fact that she desperately did not want to admit it, she had not had 'just sex' with him in the bed that the Room of Requirement had provided for them. They had made love. Gentle kisses; long, deep looks; lingering caresses. That was more than sex.

But it didn't matter. It was a one-time thing. She had momentarily forgotten where she was and who she was with. And it could _never_ happen again. It _would _never happen again. She wouldn't let it.

Besides, it was like he had said—it was probably out of their systems by now. They could just go back to fighting and forget that there had ever been anything else between them. And after a little time passed, they would forget about it completely. It would be looked back on as nothing more than a stupid mistake that they had made when they were young and their teenage hormones were running wild.

For now, Rose would just have to avoid him. Until she could be sure that he was out of her system for good.

* * *

Three nights after his encounter with Rose in the Room of Requirement, Scorpius found himself pacing in an empty dungeon classroom arguing with himself. Again. He couldn't seem to stop obsessing over what had happened with her.

It had been the perfect arrangement. Sex—no strings, no emotions—just sex. And then she had run her fingers over his forehead, in what could only have been an attempt to comfort him, and Scorpius had forgotten that what was between them was supposed to be purely physical. He had wanted her. All of her. He had needed to sink into her and let go of everything that had haunted him since he was old enough to understand his family's part in the Second Wizarding War.

Her. Rose Weasley. His enemy. And yet, somehow, the feel of her against him, moving over him, making love to him, had calmed him in a way that he was entirely uncomfortable with.

Because there was no doubt that they had made love. There was no confusing that unhurried, sensuous experience with the numerous wild encounters they had been having in nooks and crannies throughout the castle. Those other times had been just sex. It could have been anyone he was plunging himself into. It was a purely physical and instinctive act. Just sex.

Or had it been? Now, he was questioning everything that had happened between him and Rose. There was no way that he could have felt the way he did while she was on top of him in that bed if there hadn't been some sort of buildup—some sort of escalation that had inevitably culminated in tenderness rather than passion and aggression.

Because, as much as Scorpius was attempting to convince himself that Rose was just a convenient place to let off some sexual energy, he knew that there was more to it than that. With Rose, there was always more to everything. She was the most complicated, frustrating human being he had ever met. And therein lay the problem. She could arouse levels of passion—both from anger and from lust—that he hadn't even know he was capable of feeling before he met her. Apart from his encounters with Rose, no matter what the form those encounters took, he had a relatively stable personality. He rarely fought, especially not physically, and he definitely didn't walk around looking for trouble. But then, the second Rose walked into a room, it was like his entire body tensed, ready for confrontation.

There was just something about her that provoked him. That was why the whole 'just sex' arrangement had come about in the first place. They knew how to trigger an intense reaction from one another and lately that reaction had simply matured into sex. But that didn't explain what had happened between them the other night.

That had been something deeper.

Maybe it was merely a sign that they had gotten each other out of their systems. That it was time to move on and forget that they had ever touched one another. They had clearly gone down that particular road until it had reached its inevitable conclusion. Now it could be looked upon as a youthful transgression—something that had occurred when their hormones were out of control. Nothing more.

It was over. Best forgotten.

* * *

Eleven days later, Rose was sitting in Charms, attempting to pay attention to Professor Flitwick's instructions on the proper wand movements for a particularly complicated nonverbal spell. She had been feeling on edge for the past week, but she couldn't figure out why. Everything was back to normal. Just as it should be. She should be feeling relieved; glad to be back in a world that she could understand. And yet, she couldn't help but feel unsettled. She had been snapping at her friends, found her mind wandering in class, and couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. What was wrong with her?

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a white-blonde head of hair. She felt a twist in her gut. _Scorpius._ He was the reason that she was so—

No. It had nothing to do with him. The reason she was feeling so out of it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she hadn't so much as spoken to Scorpius Malfoy in almost two weeks. It had to be something else.

She angrily flicked her wand as Professor Flitwick had instructed, attempting to push all thoughts of that infuriating Slytherin from her mind.

Rose jumped as a voice piped up, intruding on her thoughts. "You have to _follow through_, Miss Weasley. Don't cut off your wand movement so abruptly," Flitwick instructed her, miming the correct motion with his hand.

"You obviously have trouble following through with whatever it is you set out to do, don't you Honeysuckle?" Scorpius quipped from a few feet away.

Rose's head snapped in his direction. So he wanted to go _there_. Fine by her. "Oh, I can follow through. When it matters, at least. Otherwise, why bother wasting my time?"

"So now you think mastering Charms is a waste of time? What, are you too busy thinking about other activities that could be more…_constructive_?" Scorpius watched Rose's eyes flash and smirked at the small victory. _Oh_, she was angry.

"What would you know about constructive activities, Malfoy? You've never been any good at doing anything _constructive_," she retorted.

"Oh, I'm sure that there are many people who would disagree, Forget-Me-Not." Scorpius's eyes had heated up, providing Rose with a perfect reminder of exactly how good he was at the activities he was currently referencing. The fact that he was bringing all of those feelings to the surface only served to make her even more furious.

She quickly steered the conversation in another direction. She needed to regain control. "Why do you even care if I'm not perfect in class? That only makes it possible for you to be better than me at something. For once."

Scorpius took a menacing step forward. "Oh, no. I prefer it when you try your hardest and you still can't even come close to touching me. It's no fun to gloat when you've got excuses." He smirked. "And you've always got excuses."

He continued towards her. "You're looking a little angry there, Passionflower. It's not good to hold all of that in. You should probably let off some steam. Get it out of your system," he taunted her suggestively.

That was it. Rose raised her wand, pointing it in Scorpius's direction. He had taken the innuendo _way_ too far and she had had enough of his smug remarks. Time to shove his words down his throat. Wipe that sickening grin off of his face.

Suddenly, a shield appeared between the two of them, startling them both. They looked around in confusion, noticing the rest of the classroom's occupants for the first time since they had started arguing.

"Now, that will be quite enough!" Flitwick interrupted sternly. He looked up at Rose and Scorpius, his eyes narrowed as his wand continued to manipulate the magical barrier he had erected to keep them from killing each other. "Do I need to send the two of you to the headmistress or do you think that you can manage to behave yourselves for the rest of my class?"

Rose's gaze shot to Scorpius's, her eyes locking with his. After a moment, she could not handle the intensity of it and she looked away, lowering her wand as she did so. Flitwick nodded sharply, turning to Scorpius and raising an eyebrow. When Scorpius shrugged and turned to walk away to resume his classwork, Flitwick ended his shield charm and returned to the front of the room to continue his instruction.

Rose spent the rest of the Charms lesson ignoring Scorpius and doing her best to keep her eyes from straying in his direction. She was only mildly successful.

* * *

Scorpius strode down the hallway, oblivious to everything going on around him. What had he been thinking? He had only meant to get a rise out of her. A small one. One snarky comment and that was it. How had he ended up getting into an argument with her about their sexual history? In front of the entire class?

As soon as he had seen her eyes flash, he was lost. He just couldn't seem to stop himself from pushing her further and further. And he had definitely pushed her pretty damn far. He hadn't missed the heat in her eyes—heat that had very little to do with the anger she was feeling and everything to do with want. The same want that had been clawing at him, begging him to reach out and grab her. The same want that was desperately trying to convince him that he missed her.

But he didn't miss Rose. Sure, there was a part of him that missed fighting with her. They had been trying so hard to ignore each other that they had avoided any contact whatsoever. They hadn't had a decent fight in weeks. How else could that incident in Flitwick's classroom be explained? There was a part of him that missed having someone who could challenge him in every way imaginable. And yeah, okay. There was a large part that missed the mind-blowing sex. But he didn't miss _her._ He was done with her.

Fuck. He needed to stop lying to himself. She was nowhere even close to being out of his system. _Fuck_.

* * *

Rose was sitting underneath a tree down by the lake, watching the giant squid sun itself while desperately trying to rein in her thoughts. She was beginning to think that she was only fooling herself when she had believed that Scorpius was out of her system. What had happened in Charms class was proof of that. Of course, she had been livid. She had wanted to curse him into oblivion. But there was another, larger part of her that had just wanted to grab onto him and crush her mouth to his.

And that was why she had reached for her wand. That was why he had managed to get her that angry that quickly. Because she still wanted him. And that made her furious.

She needed to figure out a way to get him out of her head. Damn him. Why had he started that argument? Why did he have to bring up what had been between them. And in a room full of people?

She just needed some more time to forget. Her body needed time to forget the feeling of his hands on her skin. His mouth. His…

Enough! It had been a major mistake to ever let him touch her. To ever touch him. But she would push it to the back of her mind and, eventually, it would fade away into nothing.

* * *

An hour later, Rose was still sitting there, staring off into space when Albus plopped down beside her on the grass. She glanced over at him.

"What are you doing down here, Albus? I thought you and Lorcan were supposed to be studying for Care of Magical Creatures."

Albus's dream was to work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures after graduating from Hogwarts. He had always loved animals. When they were growing up, he would drive Aunt Ginny mad when he kept showing up with various kinds of creatures, magical and non-magical. She had finally sat him down for a long discussion about what could and could not be brought into her house after she had been doing his laundry and had reached into one of his pockets to check for loose objects only to find a nest of baby mice. From then on, there were strict rules about appropriate placement of her son's little friends and a small shed was installed in the backyard for his ever-expanding zoo.

Albus was Hagrid's favorite of all the Weasley/Potter offspring—although the groundskeeper would never come out and admit to it—and Albus spent at least one afternoon a week down at Hagrid's hut helping him tend to his menagerie of pets. He had told Rose that he and Lorcan, who wanted to work with dragons like Rose's Uncle Charlie, would be studying for Hagrid's class the rest of the day. Which was why she was currently sitting by herself. Her cousin was the only person she could trust to know when not to ask too many questions.

"Yeah, I thought so too. That is until I went up to the dorm to get my books and found him and Melinda groping one another. Apparently it's been going on for a couple of weeks now."

"What?! How did I not know about this?"

"Honestly, Rosie, you've been a little out of it lately. It wouldn't surprise me if you've missed a lot of stuff."

Rose looked slightly hurt at his abrupt tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore all you guys."

Albus sighed. "No, it's alright," he sent her a sideways glance. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I've just been thinking about some things."

"Anything you want to share?"

"Not right now?"

"Okay."

Rose remained quiet, her thoughts running rampant. Albus said nothing, just waited patiently beside her. Finally, she decided she couldn't take it anymore. "It's just…things were kind of changing in my life without me realizing it and when I finally _did_ realize…I just decided that I needed to—that it would be better if I was the one making the conscious decision to change things. So I did. I made a change." She sighed. "That probably doesn't make any sense."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the giant squid flip its tentacles over one by one as it took full advantage of the warmth of the sun's rays. "Look, Rose, I can't say that I have any idea what you were talking about just now, but I will say this. If you made that change about a week and a half ago and this is how it's making you feel? Maybe you should think about changing it back. You seemed a whole hell of a lot happier before."

"You think I seem unhappy?"

"I don't know, Rosie. You're sitting out here, _alone_, staring at the giant squid with a very pitiful look on your face. You tell me."

Rose didn't respond. She just looked out over the lake, watching as its surface began to reflect the colors of the rapidly descending sun. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her body for warmth—the autumn air had a bit of a bite to it now that the heat of the day was beginning to recede.

She and Albus settled into a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before he finally spoke again. His voice was lighter than it had been. "So do you think we should mention to Melinda and Lorcan that her father and his mother used to hook up?"

Rose sent him a sideways glance, trying not to crack a smile. "Just because we heard our dads teasing Neville about that, doesn't mean it's true."

"Who cares if it's true? I just want to get a look at their faces when they hear it." Albus's eyes were twinkling mischievously and when he turned to grin at her, Rose couldn't help but burst out laughing.

* * *

**The next chapter is..."Surrender." Hopefully, it will be posted before the 4th of July. I've got some family festivities that I'm travelling for (my brother is in the army so I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon to meet my family before going across the country to his base for the holiday weekend). I can't guarantee that I'll have a lot of time to write, and I don't want to rush through the next chapter since it's so important, but I promise I will do my very best. Hope to see you next time!**


	12. Surrender

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter! Thank you for your patience. I had a great time visiting my brother for the 4th of July. It was pretty neat being on an army post for Independence Day and, since I haven't seen my little brother for almost six months, it was very special. I hope all you Americans out there enjoyed your holiday. For the rest of you, thank you for bearing with me while I took some family time and enjoyed the fireworks :)**

**Just a side note...There were some mixed reactions about the last chapter. Personally, I felt like Rose and Scorpius needed some thinking time. They're both pretty confused at this point. Besides, if you haven't figured it out yet, I enjoy character development. For me, the stories that really grab me are the ones with details. I like to get to know the characters so that I can really see how they fit together, and Rose and Scorpius are one of the most interesting couples to examine this way (hence the reason I am writing this story). I know that some people find this a little boring - and I got the PMs to prove it after last chapter - but that is how I figure my characters out and, hopefully, there are enough people who enjoy some reflective moments to balance it out. I like depth. While I will throw in some smut or some drama when I feel the story will benefit from it, my greatest interest lies in developing a deep, meaningful, emotional relationship. That is my primary focus. That is what I find most interesting to read and, consequently, most interesting to write. So, I'm sorry to those of you who felt that I needed to get out of their heads and into the action but I refuse to compromise my character development for gratuitous sex scenes or pointless plot elements. I sincerely hope that this doesn't cause some of you to stop reading, but I need to make sure things between Scorpius and Rose feel real to me - even in a world full of magic.**

**Anyway...Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait. It's the longest yet and there are some big things happening! It was fun to write and we're definitely moving forward with Rose and Scorpius's relationship.**

**b****adada15, I'm sorry I couldn't get this up in time for your birthday on Friday, but Happy belated Birthday!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading and ****_please_**** let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Surrender**

When the first Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, Rose welcomed the distraction. She needed to stop thinking about Scorpius—a task that was made all the more difficult by her very confusing conversation with Albus down by the lake. He had practically talked her into confronting Scorpius about what had been happening between them, although of course Albus had no idea that he was basically trying to convince her to continue sleeping with the Slytherin. While Scorpius and her cousin had a rather uneasy friendship, she doubted that Albus would be encouraging her to continue jumping into broom closets and ripping Scorpius's clothes off. It would have been funny to consider if her mind had not been so damn muddled.

Rose shoved open the door to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, hoping to lose herself in the insanity that was her family for a few hours. She stopped in the entryway, scanning the crowds of Hogwarts students, before letting out a sigh of relief when she did not spot a head of white-blonde hair in the shop. Good. A moment of peace.

"Oi! Rosie!"

So much for peace. Rose smiled as she caught sight of the cousin who had screamed her name from across the store. Fred was standing in the back, next to a display advertising the newest batch of appearance altering potions. His hair was shimmering in the overhead lighting, having been dyed a phosphorescent purple as a demonstration of the potion's effects. The color stood out against his caramel skin, brightly framing his grinning face.

Rose fought her way through the swarming throng of students towards her cousin. "Hey Fred," she laughed once she had reached him. "I didn't know you were working here today."

"Yeah. Dad was short-handed. Figured I'd pick up some extra cash. Besides, I couldn't miss the chance to see my all-time, absolute favorite cousin, now could I?" he responded with his trademark smirk. Fred's face was always full of mischief. It was no wonder he had chosen to work alongside his father in the joke shop's research and development department after graduating from Hogwarts. He had definitely lived up to his namesake's wild trickster reputation. And then some.

"I'm sure Albus is around here somewhere," Rose replied.

Fred laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Oh come on, Rosie. You know you've always been my favorite."

"You know, Fred, that line works much better when you don't say it to _everyone_," she teased. "Especially not within hearing distance of the rest of your _favorites_."

She laughed at the expression of innocence that Fred had painted across his features. At her arched eyebrow, he looked affronted, his right hand clutching at his chest as he pretended to be hurt by her words. "I've no idea what you're talking about my poor, deluded cousin. Frankly, I am quite insulted that you would think so little of me." The spark in his eyes communicated exactly the opposite.

"Mmhmm," Rose commented, wryly. "Look at you—the picture of innocence. They only problem is, everyone knows that your halo is held up by a rather impressive set of horns." As Fred somehow managed to look even more offended, Rose rolled her eyes. Her family was so dramatic. At times like this, she had learned, it was best to change the subject before Fred got on too much of a roll and she was stuck here for days, spiraling into the bottomless pit that was the Weasley family sarcasm. "So…new product?" she asked, gesturing to the rows of bottles carefully arranged beside him.

Fred looked slightly disappointed at the shift in topic but quickly recovered. "Yep. Looking to have some fun with anyone, Rosie? Malfoy, perhaps?" Fred asked, missing the way that Rose stiffened slightly at the mention of Scorpius's name. Unfortunately, the 'fun' that popped into her head at Fred's question had nothing to do with dying her nemesis's hair an entertaining color and everything to do with something she had sworn she wasn't going to think about.

Annoyed with herself, Rose pushed Scorpius from her mind and quickly tuned back in to her troublemaking cousin. "That's an idea," she grinned, trying to conceal the carnal images floating through her mind with a wicked smirk.

"Hi, Rose!"

Rose turned her head at the unfamiliar voice. Standing beside her was Grant McCormick, a dark-haired, grey-eyed Ravenclaw she knew from her OWL level Arithmancy class as well as her NEWT level Ancient Runes. He was a very intelligent, but typically quiet person—the perfect Ravenclaw—which explained why Rose hadn't immediately recognized his voice.

"Hi, Grant. How are you?"

"I'm good. Just looking around some. I wanted to purchase a gift for my little sister. It's her birthday this week."

Rose couldn't help smiling a little at this. "How sweet. What are you getting her?"

Grant's brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm not really sure. Any chance you could help me pick something?" he asked hopefully.

"I think Fred would probably be the better choice. He knows everything they've got in stock."

"Oh, nonsense," Fred interrupted. "Grant, is it?" he asked. Grant's black curls bobbed as he nodded his head. "Well, Grant, I'm sure Rosie would be happy to help you."

"But—"

Fred cut her off. "Can I talk to you for a second, Rose?" he asked, giving her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and sighed, following her cousin to the row of shelves a few feet away.

As soon as they stopped, Fred turned to her. "He's hitting on you."

Rose glanced over at Grant, who was watching her surreptitiously. When she caught his eye, he blushed and shot her a quick smile before averting his gaze. She looked back to Fred. "That's sweet, but—"

"Why don't you go with him and help him out Rosie? He's a nice enough bloke. And anyway, how long has it been since you got a little romance?"

Rose immediately shut down the images of Scorpius that fluttered into her consciousness. That had _not_ been romance. Composing herself, she turned to Fred. "Oh, I don't know, Freddie. Did you ever think that maybe you lot might have something to do with my lack of romantic relationships?"

"Oh come now, Rosie. You can't blame us for everything, you know."

"No, just for scaring away any guys who might want to get close to me. I feel an incredible amount of admiration for Aunt Ginny. How she managed to go through as many boyfriends as she did while handling an entire army of Weasley men will forever be a mystery to me." She still didn't want to think of Scorpius. He was one of the few guys she had ever met who wasn't threatened by her family. He might be wary of them but, if it came down to it, he could handle himself. Rose forced herself to tune back in to Fred, who was still trying to convince her to give Grant a shot.

"You never know, Rose you might have a good time."

"Why are you trying so hard to talk me into this?"

Fred gave her a slightly guilty look. "Albus may have mentioned that you've been a bit down lately. I just wanted to find something to cheer you up."

Rose was about to respond with annoyance at the fact that her cousins were conspiring behind her back about matters that did not concern them when she realized that Fred was right. She did need a distraction. She needed Scorpius Malfoy out of her head and maybe, just maybe, Grant McCormick was the way to accomplish that feat. She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. I'll go out with him. Just remember, if you lot change your mind down the road because he's getting a little too friendly, you were the one who talked me into this."

Fred's grin vanished from his face at the thought. "Maybe you should just keep him from getting too friendly then, Rosie," he responded, clearly uncomfortable.

"Nope! You put me in this situation and now I get to have as much fun as I want with it!" she cheerfully remarked, holding her laughter at the sight of the expression of horror on her cousin's face. She made her way back over to where Grant had been waiting patiently for her to return.

* * *

Rose was surprised to find that she enjoyed her time with Grant. They walked up and down the aisles of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes while she asked him questions about his sister's likes and dislikes. After about an hour, Grant ended up with a handful of sugar quills and a small purple Pygmy Puff. While his purchases were being rung up at the register, Grant asked Rose if she would let him take her to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer as a thank you for her help. Unable to come up with a reason to turn him down, Rose found herself sitting at a table in the pub, across from a smiling Grant.

The conversation flowed reasonably well, and Rose was having a pleasant, if somewhat bland time with the Ravenclaw. That was, until she happened to glance over his left shoulder to see Scorpius sitting with Alexander Cook, a fellow Slytherin, in a booth against the wall, his eyes fixed on her. The jolt of longing she felt as their gazes locked was incredibly intense and entirely unwelcome.

And suddenly it became painfully apparent that Scorpius was not out of her system. Maybe, in time, he would be. But definitely not yet. Definitely not now, this very second, when she was doing her very best to convince herself that she was perfectly happy to be sitting with Grant, enjoying a comfortable afternoon sipping Butterbeer and making small talk.

She tore her eyes away from Scorpius's, desperately trying to tune back in to whatever it was Grant was saying. She did her best to ignore the blonde across the room and, instead, focus all of her attention on the perfectly nice raven-haired boy in front of her. This was the kind of person she should be with. This was the kind of person she should have feelings for. Grant was sweet, sincere, smart, and steady. Everything that Scorpius was not.

Scorpius was unstable, impulsive, stubborn, and just plain infuriating. She definitely did not want someone like him. She definitely did not wish that she was across the room sitting with him right now, staring into _his_ eyes.

Rose shook herself, directing her attention to the eyes in front of her. Grant had grey eyes too. Just like Scorpius.

But, no. Not like Scorpius. Where Scorpius's irises were a pure, clear grey that darkened to smoke when aroused and icy steel when angry, Grant's were actually more of a grey-green color. And where Scorpius's complexion made his colorless orbs stand out in sharp relief, Grant's unruly black curls constantly flopped into his eyes, throwing his face into shadow. Scorpius was dangerous. Grant was amiable. Scorpius smoldered. Grant was sensible. Being around Scorpius set her on fire. Being around Grant was pleasant…comfortable.

And Rose was bored out of her mind.

But she didn't have feelings for Scorpius. She still hated him. She just wanted to be with him. All the time…

No. She needed to move past that sick infatuation. And Grant was the perfect person to help her do that. She just needed to get away from Scorpius first.

Rose smiled at the boy sitting across from her. "Why don't we go to Honeydukes, Grant? I'm craving sweets."

She pushed down the guilt she felt at the way his face lit up at her suggestion.

* * *

Scorpius watched Rose sitting with Grant McCormick, a fellow seventh year, in the pub of the Three Broomsticks Inn. He bristled as she smiled at the dark-haired Ravenclaw, doing his best to ignore the unpleasant feeling in his chest at the sight. When her eyes snapped to his, he felt the air between them sizzle and crack with the intensity of the connection. That was harder to ignore.

He was perfectly fine with the fact that Rose was hanging out with another guy. It wasn't as if he had any claim over her. In fact, he didn't want any claim over her. He just wanted her.

Dammit! He wanted her. Nothing else in the world had ever given him the same rush that merely locking eyes with Rose across a crowded pub could inspire. No one else had ever made him feel even remotely close to what she could with a simple glance. Not that it mattered. There would never be anything between them but an intense rivalry—and the memory of some very passionate incidents. He was perfectly okay with that.

Rose smiled again and leaned in to whisper something to Grant. A split-second later, the pair were rising from their seats and heading towards the door. As Grant put his arm around Rose's shoulders to steer her out of the pub, Scorpius tensed, his chest tightening with an emotion he refused to acknowledge as jealousy.

He sat for a moment, drumming his fingers against the table before making some sort of excuse to Alexander and bolting out the door after the fiery redhead he just couldn't seem to get enough of.

Scorpius trailed behind her and Grant until they turned into Honeydukes. At least it wasn't Madam Puddifoot's, he thought to himself. Not that he cared. He definitely didn't care who she was with, or what she chose to do with them. And yet, somehow, he found himself following her into the sweet shop. His feet seemed to move on their own, bringing him closer and closer to Rose and her current companion. Who happened to be nowhere near good enough for her—it was a wonder she wasn't stiff with boredom. Not that he cared.

Okay, he was being completely ridiculous. He did not have feelings for Rose. Sure, he wanted her. Badly. But he would just have to get over it. Maybe he should go and find someone to help him with that little task—she clearly had. Straightening his shoulders, Scorpius spun on his heel before walking back out of the shop and towards the castle. He forced himself to remain facing front, not allowing his eyes to seek out Rose's piercing blue gaze.

* * *

He had followed her. Rose had spotted Scorpius the instant he stepped foot into Honeydukes. She couldn't help it. There was just something about him that drew her gaze. She watched him from across the room while simultaneously attempting to focus on Grant. Poor, sweet Grant deserved her full attention. Scorpius did not. Why was he even here? Did he enjoy making her feel uncomfortable?

Rose angled her body so that Scorpius was no longer in her line of sight. Grant was a nice guy—and he was exactly what she needed. Against her will, however, Rose felt her eyes beginning to stray back to where she had last seen Scorpius. She looked to the door just in time to see him slip out, his body tense with determination.

This was useless. The second she had locked eyes with Scorpius in the Three Broomsticks, Rose's ability to concentrate on Grant had completely disappeared. She turned to the dark-haired boy in front of her, realizing that he had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. Clearly he had just asked her a question. She didn't have the faintest idea what it had been. "I'm sorry, Grant. I'm really tired. Would you mind walking me back to the castle?"

Grant immediately snapped to attention. "Of course!" He linked her arm through his and ushered her out of the sweet shop and into the crisp October air.

The walk back from Hogsmeade did wonders when it came to improving Rose's mood. Now that Scorpius was nowhere to be found, she was able to focus on Grant. He really was a very nice guy—if a bit dull. He could be just what she needed to help her get past…whatever it was that had been between her and Scorpius. And so, when they got back to the castle and Grant politely offered to escort Rose up to Gryffindor Tower, she accepted. They climbed the stairs together in companionable silence, until they reached the seventh floor landing and Grant wrapped his hand around Rose's elbow to gently turn her towards him.

His eyes were focused on her lips, and Rose could easily read his intent to kiss her. He lowered his head slowly, giving her time to pull back or refuse, but she did neither. This was just what she needed—to feel someone besides Scorpius against her.

Grant's mouth settled softly over hers, his hand coming up to cup her cheek and his eyes fluttering shut. Rose kissed him back, leaning into the warmth of his body and squeezing her eyes tightly closed.

She felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. How was that possible? Grant was such a good person. He was sweet and easy-going and everything that _Scorpius Bloody Malfoy_ was not. And yet, she got more of a thrill from just looking at Scorpius than she did with her lips pressed to Grant's. When Scorpius touched her, she felt like every nerve ending in her body was on high alert. With Grant—she didn't feel a single thing.

With a groan of frustration, Rose pulled back. Grant was staring down at her dreamily and she immediately felt like the worst person on earth. He had been kissing her and she had been comparing him with another man—and it was not even a favorable comparison.

"I'm sorry Grant…it's just…I'm—" she broke off, fumbling over an explanation that wouldn't hurt his feelings too badly. "You're such a great guy. You really are. I just…I don't feel that way about you. I wish I did, believe me…Can you understand that?"

Grant smiled sadly. "I get it. It's okay, Rose. I knew it was a long shot."

"No, really. You're so great and I had a lot of fun today but…I don't know. Something's just missing, you know?" Scorpius. Scorpius was missing.

Grant nodded. "Goodbye, Rose. I guess I'll see you in class?"

"Of course. Thank you for today, Grant. I really did have a great time. I hope your sister likes her gifts."

Grant gave her one last smile and turned, making his way back down the stairs. As soon as he had disappeared from view, Rose took off at a dead run towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. She leapt through the portrait hole the instant that it was revealed and sprinted across the Common Room and up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

She knew that Albus and the rest of the seventh year boys were still down at Hogsmeade so she didn't even bother knocking before charging through their door and heading straight for the trunk at the foot of Albus's bed. She ripped open the lid and began rummaging through his things. Finally, she found what she was looking for and snatched it up triumphantly.

She grabbed her wand, pointed it at the piece of parchment and muttered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The Marauder's Map materialized and she laid it out on the floor in front of her, frantically searching the dots circulating about the castle.

There! The dot labeled Scorpius Malfoy was not moving, hovering in place on one of the back stairways between the fifth and sixth floors. He wasn't far and, thankfully, he was alone. After quickly extinguishing the map, Rose stuffed it back into Albus's trunk and raced out of the dorm. It was way past time for her to stop hiding.

* * *

Scorpius's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps. He had been sitting alone on an empty staircase, doing his best to keep his mind from wandering towards what Rose may or may not be doing with Grant at that very moment. After leaving Honeydukes, he had returned to the castle with every intention of grabbing onto the first girl with a tolerable face and decent body and dragging her off to a broom closet to work off some of the sexual energy that seemed to be doing its very best to smother him. But every girl he had seen just had not done a single thing for him. It was time for him to face the facts. He didn't want just any girl. He wanted Rose. His body craved her, _only_ her, and no one else would do. No one but Rose.

And then, suddenly, there she was. He looked up to find a very determined-looking Rose striding towards him. When she stopped on the step above him, he raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you with something, Snapdragon?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rose's eyes flashed and narrowed. "Let's go," she demanded, reaching down to grab ahold of his wrist and tugging until he obediently rose to his feet.

"Where're you…"

"Shut up." She pulled on his hand, dragging him along behind her as she purposefully made her way up to the seventh floor hallway that housed the Room of Requirement. As soon as the doors materialized, Rose yanked him through them.

Scorpius spun around to face her. "What the hell is going on?"

Rose crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Grant kissed me."

Scorpius scoffed, attempting to disguise the fact that his entire body had tensed at her casual statement. "Do you really think I care that some guy kissed you?"

"Yeah. I think you do. And I think that the fact that you care scares you just as much as it scares me."

"I don't get scared."

"Bullshit. You're terrified."

Scorpius sneered.

"Oh, you don't think so? Fine. I'll just go knock on the door to Ravenclaw Tower and find Grant. Tell him that I want him. That I can't stop thinking about how it would feel to have his hands running over every inch of my body. That I _need_ him inside of me. Right. Now. I need him to shove me up against the wall, rip my clothes off and plunge deep—"

She was cut off as Scorpius's mouth savagely attacked hers. He shoved her into the wall, pressing the full length of his body into hers and pinning her wrists above her head in one smooth motion. His body was pulled taut with anger and lust as he devoured her.

Rose let out a gust of breath before throwing herself into the kiss. _This_ was what she had needed—this blast of feeling, sparking her blood and sending a rush of warmth through every inch of her body. This onslaught of sensation was what had been missing with Grant. She strained against Scorpius as she struggled to free her hands, needing to feel his skin beneath her fingertips, but he held fast.

She lurched her body into his while biting down harshly on his bottom lip, her actions surprising him enough to cause him to overbalance. Rose took full advantage of his momentary weakness, launching her full weight into him and tumbling them both to the floor. Scorpius lost his grip on her wrists during the scuffle, allowing her to make quick work of his robes before grabbing onto his collar and pulling downwards, ripping through his buttons to get to the warm expanse of his chest.

They rolled across the floor, fighting for dominance and throwing off clothing as quickly as possible. Scorpius could hear the blood rushing in his ears; feel it thundering through his veins as if it were trying to burst through his skin. He plunged his fingers into the wild curling mass of her hair, tugging her mouth down to his for a searing kiss.

Rose's nails scraped down his back; Scorpius's teeth bored into her shoulder as they continued to grapple, each struggling to remain on top. They desperately shed the rest of their clothes just as Scorpius pinned her beneath him, pressing his hard length against her core, causing Rose to whimper with need.

Through the haze of pleasure, Rose thought she heard him growl, _"Mine,"_ as he sheathed himself in her, his voice harsh and breathless. Before she had a chance to fully register the hoarse whisper, however, his mouth had begun traveling down the column of her throat, his lips planting blistering kisses against her skin, and she was lost in the intensity of the sensations he was able to arouse in her.

* * *

They lay still, not making any attempt to move from their current position on the ground. They were tangled together, breathing heavily. Rose was stretched out beneath Scorpius, limp and sated, her arms draped lightly over his back, her fingers loosely gripping his shoulders. His body was cradled between her legs, his face buried in her neck, his lips pressed to the skin just below her ear.

"_Merlin_, I missed you."

Rose smiled softly, her hand coming up to tangle in his silky hair. "I was wondering if I'd be able to get you to admit it."

Scorpius shifted his weight, rolling them so that Rose was now sprawled across his chest. He stroked his fingers gently up and down her spine. "I admit it." He was silent for a few moments. "So…what happened to Grant?" he finally asked, his voice hesitant.

"He kissed me." She felt Scorpius stiffen beneath her. She lifted her head, propping it up on her hand so that she could look down into his eyes. "He kissed me and I felt nothing. _Nothing_. I might as well have been kissing the back of my own hand. But when you kiss me…"

Scorpius smirked. "Fireworks."

Rose snorted. "Cheesy, but yes. I got more of a spark from that look we shared in the Three Broomsticks than…"

"I know the feeling."

Rose smiled, reaching up to plant a kiss to the slightly-stubbled flesh beneath the sharp plane of his jaw.

"I came back here looking to find some random girl." Now it was Rose's turn to tense. "I needed to let out some of this sexual frustration but…nobody else seemed the least bit appealing. They just weren't you."

"What's going on between us, Scor?" Rose asked, her fingernails stroking across his ribcage.

He was silent for a moment. "I honestly don't know. But whatever it is, it seems to be more than just sex."

"Obviously. There's clearly something here," Rose agreed. "And ignoring it definitely hasn't worked. It hasn't made this go away."

"If anything, it's just gotten stronger." Scorpius touched a hand to the curve of Rose's cheek, tilting her face up so that he could look into her eyes. "So what do we do now?"

"I guess we try and figure this out," Rose shrugged. "I mean, it's not as if we have feelings for one another…"

"No, of course not," Scorpius nodded. "This is just…" he trailed off in confusion. "What is it?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." Rose huffed in annoyance. "There's _something_ here, though. And we _need_ to figure out what it is. We'll both go crazy if we don't."

After a few moments of silence, Scorpius spoke up. "No one can know about this."

"Of course not. Can you imagine the scandal? Besides, what would we tell everyone? We don't even know what this is. How are we supposed to explain it?"

"Exactly. And for all we know, this thing between us may still burn itself out."

"Yeah…maybe." Somehow, she seriously doubted it.

* * *

**The next chapter is "Keeping Secrets." Hope to see you next time!**


	13. Keeping Secrets

**Author's Note: I am so sorry that this has taken a while to post...again. I'm honestly not that happy with this chapter. Fingers crossed that you guys still enjoy it. For some reason, I had a really hard time writing it. None of the characters seemed to want to do what I wanted them to do. I ended up going in a slightly different direction from what I originally intended, but sometimes that just happens. You put personalities on the page and they somehow get a life of their own. Hopefully this trend does not continue and I'll be able to post the next chapter soon. I already have a decent chunk of it written so, barring any unforeseen complications, it should be posted within the next couple of days.**

**I know some of you have been wondering about when we are time-wise in relation to the events in the prologue. We are currently in mid-October to early November. The "fight" in the prologue takes place in early December. The way I currently have it mapped out, we'll catch up to the present in Chapter 16 or 17. We're getting there, folks!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Keeping Secrets**

Over the next couple of weeks, Rose and Scorpius began spending more and more time together. If pressed, they would have insisted that it was because they wanted to figure out exactly what was going on between them. The truth was a bit more complicated. They were beginning to actually enjoy being with one another.

As a result of this increased contact, they found themselves having to actively think about not touching each other when they were not alone. They had spent so much time being intimate that going back to pretending to be mortal enemies felt very strange to them. Without them realizing it, it had become natural for Rose and Scorpius to be close to one another—both emotionally as well as physically.

That was, perhaps, the most shocking revelation for the pair—they could talk to each other. They would spend hours in the Room of Requirement, just lying beside one another and talking about everything and nothing. Because of this intimate down time, when they were completely isolated in their own little world, they had begun to develop habits. Habits that could not be allowed to bridge the gap between the unplottable territory that was the Room of Requirement and the rest of the castle.

One of those habits had surfaced soon after they had reunited, and it was something Rose could easily have done without. She quickly discovered that Scorpius liked to play with her hair. After they were finished with more strenuous activities, he would lie with her in his arms, absent-mindedly winding her silky red strands around his fingers. While Rose wouldn't ordinarily have minded this sort of affectionate touching, even from Scorpius, she soon tired of the fact that his continuous twirling of her scarlet curls was creating knots that she then had to spend a rather significant amount of time charming out of her hair. She had already gone through an entire bottle of Weasley's _Not-Knotty-Now! s_ince she and Scorpius had admitted that there was more between them than sex and had begun to explore the extent of their relationship. Unfortunately, despite her objections, Scorpius made it clear that he had no intentions of stopping.

They began to feel like they were completely different people in public than they were when they were together in private. If they had taken the time to analyze the fact that they felt most comfortable when they were alone in the Room of Requirement, tangled up in one another while Scorpius made a tangled mess of Rose's hair, they probably would have been very anxious at the knowledge. Fortunately for their peace of mind, however, they were too busy pretending that there was nothing significant going on between them to thoroughly examine just what _was_ going on between them.

* * *

One afternoon after Potions, Rose and Scorpius had snuck off to an abandoned corridor so that they could have a minute alone. They had both been swamped—between schoolwork, friends, and the start of the Quidditch season, there had been very little time to steal away for some time together. It had been days since they had met in the Room of Requirement and they were both feeling the loss of intimacy.

Scorpius had Rose pinned against the wall, her face framed between his forearms as he rested them on either side of her. He was running his lips across her jaw while her hands slid over his chest and slipped down his sides to rest on his hips. Considering the amount of time since their last encounter, there was a surprising lack of urgency in their touches. Instead, Scorpius was gentle as he moved one hand so that he could smooth Rose's hair away from her face, running his knuckles over her cheek in the process.

Rose sighed, leaning into the caress, and lowering her mouth so that she could lay a trail of kisses down his throat, towards the opening in his collar. Scorpius tipped his head forward, pressing his lips to her temple, feeling her languid pulse beating on the tip of his tongue. When she looked up, her head tilting back to lean against the wall, he sunk into her, letting out a warm rush of breath as their tongues slid together.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps and immediately sprang apart. Before either Scorpius or Rose could disappear from sight, Charity Platt rounded the corner. The second she saw them, she froze—a terrified expression on her face.

"What is going on here?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Rose and Scorpius exchanged nervous glances, concerned about just how much she suspected.

"What are you two doing all alone together?!" The professor flapped her hands in the air gesturing them apart. "Move away from one another, right now!" she ordered them. Brows crinkled in confusion, they obeyed.

"Why can't the two of you just act like human beings? Do you really need to cause these disturbances? Can't you just grow up?" When neither teenager responded, she huffed in annoyance. "Really, would it be so hard to just _not_ try to kill one another?"

Rose had to stifle a laugh. Poor Professor Platt. She was clearly still traumatized by the incident in her classroom. Seeing the two of them alone together had automatically led her to assume that they were attempting to murder one another while there were no witnesses.

"Now I want you to both leave this hallway and head off to wherever it is that you are supposed to be right now." When Rose and Scorpius started walking in the same direction, she immediately stopped them. "No, I don't think so. Opposite directions if you please. This is a very old castle. I'm not sure it could withstand many more of your incidents."

"Of course, Professor," Scorpius responded, shooting an amused glance at Rose. She smiled slightly before turning and making her way down the corridor.

Too bad they had been interrupted so quickly. She actually missed being close to him. At least they would have tonight. They had both made sure that their schedules would be clear and, since their Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts essays had both been due that afternoon, their homework promised to be light enough to allow them to sneak away for a few hours.

* * *

That evening, in the Room of Requirement, Rose and Scorpius lay on the plush mattress of the canopy bed, talking—while Scorpius played with Rose's hair.

"We have to be more careful. If Professor Platt had caught us today, there is no way that the entire school wouldn't have found out by dinner time," she commented, snuggling into his side.

"That would be a very bad thing. I'm definitely not ready for everyone to know, especially since we still don't have a clue what's going on here." Scorpius frowned. "We have to be more careful. I'm having a hard time ignoring you in public and I'm afraid it's going to start showing."

Rose sat up, tugging her hair from his grasp. "There has to be a way to keep people from suspecting."

"Easy. Just keep acting like we hate each other."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "We do hate each other…kind of…" she trailed off.

Scorpius watched her in amusement. "So we make it so apparent that we cannot stand one another that no one would ever think that we would be doing…whatever it is that we're doing."

"So…what? We fight more?"

"Yeah. When's the last time we had a really good battle, Lavender? In public, anyway."

Rose chewed her lip thoughtfully. "You're right. It's been all calm on the Hogwarts front lately. We should stir things up again."

Scorpius smirked. "Now you're talking. Stage a few fights—hell, we could just _have_ a few fights—as long as we make sure we stick to safe topics and make them as public as possible. That should keep people from suspecting that anything's different."

Rose mirrored his expression. "I like it."

* * *

They staged fights all over the school. After what had been a much-appreciated lull in the Weasley/Malfoy war, the Hogwarts community resigned themselves to the fact that the time for peace had ended. Rose and Scorpius had succeeded in achieving their goal—no one suspected that they were stealing away to be together as frequently as possible.

Fortunately for them, and everyone else around them, Rose and Scorpius had reverted back to harmless pranks in their effort to keep up the attacks but prevent any injury to the person they were starting to have genuine feelings for—feelings that they still adamantly denied, of course. They began to have fun pranking one another and, soon, it started to become like foreplay to them.

One morning before classes began, Rose switched Scorpius's quill with a specially-altered Spell-checking one that automatically corrected his name to _Shithead_. He made it through an entire day without realizing until, in Charms class, Professor Flitwick squeaked in surprise when Scorpius handed in his homework. This sent Rose into a fit of wild laughter on the other side of the room, causing Scorpius to glare daggers in her direction, his molten gaze promising retribution. An hour later, they found themselves in a broom closet—Rose's legs wrapped around his waist, his hands buried in her hair as he kissed her senseless.

A few days later, Scorpius managed to sneak a Patented Daydream Charm into Rose's pumpkin juice so that she spent half of Defense Against the Dark Arts in her own little world. She drooled contentedly, her mind miles away relaxing on a tropical beach, while Professor Fenwick repeatedly attempted to startle her from her reverie. As soon as class let out, they ended up in the Room of Requirement, ripping one another's clothes off.

In retaliation, Rose spend half of their next Transfiguration class shooting non-verbal silencing charms Scorpius's way every time he tried to speak. After the class had ended, Scorpius spent the better part of an hour showing Rose just what he could do with his mouth in an empty classroom.

By the time November rolled around, both Rose and Scorpius had spent an incredible amount of money on Ton-Tongue Toffee and Canary Creams. The other students had gotten very used to the two of them randomly turning into songbirds or suddenly sprouting enormous swollen tongues that flapped down to their stomachs. The pair had gotten very good at sneaking their trick candies into one another's food during meal times and their fellow students had begun laying bets about how frequently one of these highly entertaining pranks would occur.

One of the equally entertaining, although somewhat less amusing effects of the newly escalated war between Rose and Scorpius was the sudden appearance of creepy crawlies that seemed to follow them around. They had taken to transfiguring random possessions into insects, snakes, and other reptiles while the other was not looking, causing everyone who had classes with the pair to hold their breath when either Rose or Scorpius reached into their bags to retrieve something. One never knew what would come jumping out this time.

The one rule that Rose and Scorpius had established was that there would be no incidents occurring during Potions class. Not only was it too dangerous to the people around them, with numerous open flames and NEWT level potions brewing, but they were also reluctant to traumatize Professor Platt any further. They both still felt guilty for the trouble they had caused her and felt that declaring her classroom to be a neutral zone was the least that they could do.

* * *

They continued meeting in secret whenever they could. No matter how much trouble they may have had verbalizing what exactly it was that was happening between them, they could not deny the fact that it was something significant. There was no other explanation for how quickly they had gone from being mortal enemies to feeling completely comfortable around one another.

The more time they spent together, the more Rose was seeing the softer side of Scorpius—the side she had experienced after Goyle had attacked her in the dungeon corridor. In return, it was easy to be affectionate with him. She felt herself opening up, telling him things that she would never have known that she could trust him with. And she did trust him. She couldn't explain why, but she somehow knew that Scorpius was someone that she could rely on not to betray that trust.

One night, they were lounging on a couch that had suddenly appeared in the Room of Requirement. Scorpius was slouched against the throw pillows, his legs sprawled out along the length of the cushions in front of him while Rose curled into his body, her head tucked into the crook of his neck. Neither spoke. They simply sat in silence, enjoying one another's company.

Finally, Scorpius's voice broke into the quiet calm. "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Gryffindor."

"What?" Rose exclaimed, raising up on her elbows so that she could look down at his face.

"Yeah. I sat there practically begging it not to. My dad's become a lot more open-minded than he was before the war but I don't think would have accepted me not being in Slytherin. He would have pretended to be okay with it, but he wouldn't have been happy."

Rose searched his face as he stared pointedly at the ceiling. "So the hat put you in Slytherin because you asked it to?"

Scorpius reached up, threading his hand through the dangling ends of her hair and twirling the strands around his fingers. "Yeah."

"Uncle Harry told Albus that it would take what he wanted into consideration but I always thought he was just trying to make him feel better."

Scorpius shook his head slightly. "It tried to explain to me why I shouldn't be Sorted into that house, why Gryffindor would be a better fit than Slytherin. Then it tried to sell me on Ravenclaw as an alternative, but in the end it relented."

"That's why it took so long for you to be Sorted."

"Yeah." Scorpius paused, his gaze focused on where his fingers continued to stroke through her curls. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"Who would I tell? I'm supposed to hate you, remember?"

"Right." He paused for a moment, concentrating on playing with her hair before speaking again. "How did that even happen, anyway?"

"What? Us hating each other?"

"Yeah."

"You seriously don't remember? You were horrible to me that first day in Potions."

His eyes snapped to hers. "No, I gave you a little bit of attitude. You tripped me for absolutely no reason."

"No reason?! You knocked my books all over the floor."

"That was a total accident."

"Then why didn't you help me pick them up?"

"Because you gave me the patented Rose Weasley death glare and I figured you didn't want my help."

Rose opened her mouth to retort but then promptly shut it again. How had it happened? How had they escalated so quickly? She wrinkled her brow in concentration, trying to remember exactly what had brought them to the point of animosity. "You called me Daisy. And then, when I told you my name was Rose, you called me Tulip."

Scorpius smiled. "I remember."

"So you were the one who started it."

He raised his eyebrow, his smoky eyes glinting in amusement. "Are we eleven again?"

"Come on, you know you started it."

Scorpius tilted his head to the side, conceding the point.

"Why?"

He looked up at her and she watched as his eyes darkened to a steely grey. "Do you remember what Slughorn had been saying right before he partnered us up?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "He was name-dropping as usual. Why? What does that have to do with us?"

Scorpius sighed. "He was name-dropping _your_ parents' names. He spoke about my father like he had died tragically or something."

"Okay…?"

Scorpius pushed himself up so that he was sitting, his back braced against the arm of the couch. "I had had a rough time of it in the dormitory the night before because of my family's reputation and then Slughorn just reinforced that. I was in a bad mood and then, of course, he had to pair me with the golden girl."

Rose wrinkled her nose at the moniker. "So I was just lucky enough to be a convenient target."

Scorpius smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. And then when I felt bad about snapping at you and tried to be nicer, you snapped at me."

"And then you knocked over my stuff—"

"Accidentally—"

"And I tripped you because I thought you did it on purpose."

Scorpius nodded. "And when you tripped me, right after Slughorn had barely acknowledged that I had helped you with the potion, I fell in front of the entire class—who had already been staring at me because of my last name, so I felt even more embarrassed. Naturally, I vowed to retaliate."

Rose shook her head in disbelief. "It's crazy how things get so out of control."

"Just a stupid misunderstanding—and we somehow turned it into a full-scale war."

"I can't help it—Weasley temper," Rose smirked.

Scorpius threaded his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head and bringing her lips to within a breath of his. "Well, we're here now. And I don't think there are many ways you can misunderstand this." And with that, he crushed his mouth to hers.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter is..."Confrontations and Confessions." Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time!**


	14. Confrontations and Confessions

**Author's Note: I like this chapter so much more than the last one! Hopefully you will too. After I finish the story, I may end up going back and rewriting that one a little. I feel like some parts of it were a bit rushed. I delved a bit into Rose and Scorpius's psyches in this chapter. Some deep conversation goes on folks, so be prepared. I hope you like it. I worked pretty hard on getting the dialogue just the way I wanted it so fingers crossed that it comes across. Plus, Albus makes an appearance! I love writing him so much that I may have to give him his own story in the future. Or at least a few one-shots.**

**Okay, first of all, Happy Birthday to Em! I actually ended up posting a chapter _on_ your birthday. I wasn't sure that was going to happen. Thank you so much for reviewing! I really appreciate it. All of us July birthdays have to stick together :)**

**Second...a couple of my reviewers brought up a very good question that I think I should talk about. They asked if Rose would get pregnant from all of the sex she's been having. I never addressed the problem of birth control in this story, mostly because I was out of my comfort zone enough figuring out how to write smutty scenes - something that I had never attempted before. I did consider adding in a mention of contraceptive spells but ultimately nixed the idea because I just didn't feel like the writing flowed as well when I attempted it. Just so everybody knows, Scorpius and Rose ****_are_**** using those spells to prevent pregnancy. I may go back and try to mention that somewhere now that it's clear people are concerned about it. There will be no teenage pregnancies in any of my stories. I feel that reality tv and ****_Twilight_**** (I'm sorry to any fans I might offend by saying this) promote that as an acceptable - or even romantic - thing enough as it is. I will not add to it. In fact, I would probably have decided to set my story when Rose and Scorpius were in their twenties, but I couldn't resist all of the ideas that were popping up in my head that needed to take place in Hogwarts. Plus, the idea that they would have a plan to get their parents to be okay with their relationship only works if they're still in school. So they're a little younger than they should be for the amount of sex they're having. Although, in today's world, I guess it's pretty much par for the course. Hopefully I have cleared up any worries about Rose becoming pregnant at seventeen. Thank you for sharing your concerns with me, keep it up.**

**There were also a couple of questions about how much further I plan to continue the story once we catch up with the prologue. I had mentioned this a few chapters ago, but I'll clarify. The way I have things mapped out, there are around 28 chapters. Once we get to the staged fight where Rose and Scorpius implement the first stage of their plan, which will be in chapters 16/17, we're going to move onto the rest of that plan. There's plenty more drama, romance, and laughter to be had, folks! I also came up with an idea for a one-shot set several years after this story ends so keep your eyes peeled for that! I'm sure there will be more where that came from. I'm not sure when I'll post that. I don't know if I want to wait until this story is finished before I give you a peek into the future. I've been adding to it little by little when I've had a bit of writer's block with this story so, as soon as it's finished, I might put it up. We'll see what happens - and whether I end up putting in any spoilers.**

**Whew! Anyway, now that all of that stuff is out of the way...here's the next chapter. As always, thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Confrontations and Confessions**

By the time the first week of November came to a close, Rose and Scorpius had settled into a comfortable pattern within their relationship, despite the fact that they had yet to define it. They had moved past the physical draw that had initially sparked the contact between them and onto a much deeper connection, whether they were willing to admit it or not. They were becoming far more than lovers—they were quickly becoming friends. It had gotten to the point that they would sometimes meet in the Room of Requirement, or one of their other rendezvous spots, just to talk or study or do their homework.

One such encounter found them sprawled across the couch in the Room of Requirement, discussing a particularly difficult Transfiguration assignment, which both Rose and Scorpius were having difficulty completing. They were studying Human Transfiguration and had been tasked with completing an exhaustive study on the many ways to turn a human being into an article of clothing, while still permitting him or her to observe the events going on around them. It was a very challenging and confusing branch of magic and all of the students in the class, including Rose and Scorpius, had been struggling with it for nearly a week now. Their books were spread out on the coffee table in front of them and they were both furiously scribbling on parchment and flipping through pages in an attempt to complete the project for class the next day.

Rose let out a frustrated groan, dropping her quill on the table, slouching back against the cushions and wearily running a hand down her face. "This is ridiculous. Why can't I understand this?"

Scorpius shoved his own parchment away from him and turned to face the exasperated girl beside him. He smiled when he saw that she had covered her face with her hands. "We'll figure it out."

Rose peeked out at him from between her fingers. "Why do we even have to know this rubbish? Isn't it just encouraging us to hide out in closets and spy on people?"

Scorpius let out a snort of laughter. "Yeah, probably. Just think of it this way: if we can manage to figure this stuff out, we won't have any problem keeping our relationship a secret. We can just transform ourselves into shirts or pants…or shoes whenever people are about to walk in on us."

Now it was Rose's turn to laugh. "We could always blame the fact that everyone was tripping over random shoes in the hallways on Peeves. That would solve all of our problems."

"Now you're thinking," Scorpius grinned.

Rose sighed. "I don't even know why I'm freaking out about this so much. It's not like this type of advanced Human Transfiguration is going to be on our NEWT practical."

"Yeah, well…you and I are the same there. We always have to be the best."

"That's the thing, Scor. Sometimes I don't want to have to be the best. Sometimes I just want to be average…or lazy."

Scorpius studied her face. "So why do you keep killing yourself?"

Rose pulled her legs up underneath her, turning to face him. "It isn't easy being a Weasley, you know. And it's not because of my family's expectations—they'd probably be okay with it so long as I was doing _my_ best, whether or not that was _the_ best. It's everyone else that's the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone in the wizarding world knows my family. They know my mother's reputation and all of the stuff that my parents and aunts and uncles did during the war. It's a lot to live up to. They just automatically assume that I'll be top of my class because of who my parents are—especially who my mother is. I look like her so people think I should have her brains as well. That's why I work so hard in school. It's a lot of pressure."

Scorpius nodded in understanding. "I guess I never really thought about it like that. I always saw you and your cousins and envied the fact that you all had each other. The Weasley clan—it's like having your own personal army. And you all support one another, even when you're not getting along. You always know that someone has your back. I never considered the fact that you're expected to be great as a major downside."

Rose smiled gently. "You envied us?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Yeah." He reached out to trail a finger down the side of her face, stopping to rub at a smudge of ink that her hands had left on her skin. "Do you have any idea how lonely it was to come to this school with the last name of a family of Death Eaters?"

"That's why Slughorn's comments hit you so hard on that first day in Potions," Rose whispered, sliding closer to Scorpius so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"Something like that." His hand slid back into her hair, his fingernails gently scraping back and forth across her scalp. "See, _you_ work so hard in school because you're trying to live up to your family's name. _I_ work this hard because I'm trying to overcome mine."

"What do you mean?" Rose tilted her head back so that she could see his face. "If that's what you wanted, then why did you fight so hard to get Sorted into Slytherin?"

Scorpius sighed. "It's complicated. I want to be known on my own merit—as my own person. Apart from the Malfoy reputation. But at the same time…I love my father. He's done his best to raise me the way that his parents failed to raise him. And that hasn't been easy for him."

When Scorpius fell silent, Rose sat up, curling into his side, settling her arm behind him and stroking the back of his neck in encouragement. He leaned his head back into her hand and closed his eyes.

"My father was molded to be the perfect Malfoy heir. After the war, he started to realize that those values probably wouldn't get him very far in the post-Voldemort world, so he tried to change. I'm not sure that he ever truly succeeded, but he tried. He still tries. And then, when I got to Hogwarts, I was confronted with everything that my father had worked so hard to get away from—to get me away from. It was like, the second I walked through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾, I had been sucked back in time to when the name Malfoy was automatically associated with dark magic."

He stopped, looking down at the beautiful redhead curled beside him. "Just because I want to establish an identity that's separate from all of that, doesn't mean that I want to forget where I came from. I'm proud of my heritage. I'm proud to be a Malfoy, despite the poor choices of some of my ancestors. I don't want to isolate myself from my family's history—I want to try and fix our reputation. I don't want future generations of Malfoys to have to live with the same stigma that I do. Can you understand that?"

Rose didn't say anything at first, she just looked at him. Her eyes were fixed on his, her expression full of something that resembled admiration. "I understand. You want a fresh start. For your whole family."

Scorpius nodded. "Yes. It's been over two decades since the war. I think it's about time everyone finally started to move on."

Rose leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. "Well, I think we're off to a pretty great start."

* * *

"Stop humming."

Rose looked up from the book she had been studying in the library to see Albus frowning at her.

"What?" she whispered back.

"You're humming under your breath. It's distracting."

"Sorry." She turned back to the information in front of her, skimming across the page to find where she had left off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Albus was still staring at her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. As casually as she could, Rose moved her hand up to the back of her neck, pretending to knead the stiff muscles there, while nonchalantly rearranging the collar of her shirt so that she was sure it covered the hickey she knew Scorpius had left on her collarbone. She didn't want to have to lie to Albus if he asked about it.

"You seem awfully happy lately, Rosie. Something you want to tell me?"

Rose shot him a look. "Shh. I'm trying to study."

Albus shrugged, turning back to the parchment in front of him. "If you change your mind…"

"I know. Thanks." She sent him a soft smile before returning her complete attention to the work spread out on the table in front of her.

A few minutes later, she was once again startled from her studies. "Well, well, well, Honeysuckle. Hard at work I see." Rose felt a tingle shoot up her spine at the sound of Scorpius's voice.

She lifted her head, locking her gaze to his. "Something you wanted, Malfoy?"

Scorpius sneered. "The Transfiguration book you stole from me the last time we were in here would be great. Thanks, Violet."

Rose merely raised an eyebrow, doing her best to suppress the blush that threatened to overtake her redheaded complexion at the mention of the catalyst for their first time together. "Maybe I'm still using it."

Scorpius leaned forward, pressing his palms to the table and shifting closer to Rose. "I think it's well past my turn," he growled menacingly.

"That's enough, you two," Albus interrupted, causing two pairs of heated eyes to snap in his direction.

Scorpius shrugged insolently in response. "Sorry, Al. Couldn't help myself."

"Well do you think you could try? Some of us are actually trying to get some work done."

Scorpius grinned, lifting both of his hands from the table and holding them in front of him in mock surrender. "I'll leave you to it then. Later, Daisy." With that, he turned, striding across the library and turning into the stacks of books.

Rose managed to make it ten minutes before she couldn't take it anymore. She shoved back from the table, muttering something to Albus about needing another book, before heading off in the direction of Scorpius's destination.

When she reached the back of the Transfiguration section, she saw him leaning against the shelves, his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked up as she approached. "Took you long enough. I thought I might have been too subtle."

Rose rolled her eyes. "When have you ever managed to be subtle?" She reached up, cupping her hand behind his neck and pulling his mouth to hers. "I don't have long. Albus thinks I'm just getting a book."

Scorpius turned them, his hands on Rose's hips, so that he could press her back into the shelving. "I just wanted a minute."

"Is everything okay?"

Scorpius nodded, smirking. "Just needed to let off a little steam."

Rose shook her head, laughing. "Well what are you waiting for?"

* * *

Albus sat, tapping his quill against the parchment in front of him and staring off in the direction that Rose had gone. Something was off with his cousin. He just couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was. She had been behaving strangely for the past few weeks. Actually, if he was completely honest with himself, she had been behaving strangely for the entire term. Something was going on.

He glanced down at his watch—it had been a gift from his parents when he turned seventeen. The shiny golden dial showed that Rose had been gone for nearly ten minutes now. It shouldn't take that long to find a book.

She had been very secretive lately—disappearing at odd times, hiding things from him. And earlier, he could have sworn he had seen a love bite on her neck before she had covered it. Rose had gone from being completely miserable a few weeks ago to humming to herself in the library. Yes, something was definitely going on with his cousin.

Albus checked his watch again. She had been gone for twelve minutes. That was it. He was going to get some answers. He dropped his quill onto the table, scraped back his chair, and made his way back towards the Transfiguration section.

There was no sign of her. He threaded his way up and down the aisles of books, heading further and further into the library stacks. Then, in the advanced section, he heard something. Albus cocked his head to the side, straining to hear. There it was again. It sounded like a whimper.

He hastened towards the sound, rounding the corner and stopping short in astonishment at the sight before him. Scorpius Malfoy had his arms wrapped around Rose, his mouth slowly trailing across her jawline and down her throat. Albus's initial though was that he was forcing himself on her, but that was quickly erased from his mind when Rose whimpered again, stroking her hands up Scorpius's neck and burying her fingers in his hair. She strained against him, her eyes closed in pleasure, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stifle her moans.

Finally, Albus managed to gather enough of his scattered wits to clear his throat. Rose and Scorpius sprang apart, their eyes widened in horror.

"I think you two have some explaining to do," Albus hissed, his voice low and dangerous.

Rose gulped. It was times like this that Albus reminded her an awful lot of her Aunt Ginny. It was mildly terrifying. She glanced over at Scorpius.

"Why don't we go somewhere more private?" Scorpius suggested.

If possible, Albus's eyes narrowed even further. "You didn't think to suggest that…oh, I don't know…about ten minutes ago? Before you started groping my cousin, maybe?"

"Albus, come on. Let's go somewhere we can talk," Rose interrupted.

Albus nodded, gesturing for them to precede him. He escorted them out of the library, quickly moving down the corridor to the nearest empty classroom.

Once he had ushered Rose and Scorpius into the classroom and closed the door behind them, Albus rounded on the tall, blonde Slytherin, his piercing green eyes boring into him. "So what happened to that vinaigrette metaphor you pulled out of your arse in the hospital wing last spring?"

Scorpius grinned. "I guess I like shaking things up."

Albus shook his head in disbelief. "So what, you two got bored of fighting so you decided to start shagging?"

"How could we ever get bored of fighting?" Scorpius quipped.

Albus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You might want to cut the crap, Malfoy. I'm really not in the mood."

Rose laid a hand on Scorpius's forearm. "He's right. He deserves the truth."

Albus crossed his arms, tapping his foot expectantly. When neither person spoke up, he raised an eyebrow. "Well? What is this? Fuck buddies, friends with benefits…are you two madly in love?" He smirked as both Rose and Scorpius flinched at the last part of his statement.

"It's complicated," Rose started.

"I'm listening."

Scorpius took a deep breath. "We're not really sure what it is, okay. We just know that it's more than sex."

Albus nodded. "How long?"

Grey eyes locked on blue. "On and off since last spring," Rose whispered.

"Seriously?" Albus demanded, completely astounded. "But…how…when…" he paused to collect himself. "You guys have been fighting like crazy."

"Throws people off the scent. We didn't want anyone to find out," Scorpius told him.

Albus was still staring at them in shock. "This is completely insane."

"You're the one that told me I should be with him, you know," Rose spoke up.

"Uh…no. I'm pretty sure I would remember that, Rosie."

"It's true. Remember our conversation by the lake when you told me that whatever change I had made was obviously making me miserable? You said I should probably change back?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well the change I made was that I had stopped sleeping with Scorpius."

Albus's jaw dropped. He stared at his cousin stupidly for a few seconds before he forced his mouth shut and shook his head to clear it. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me."

"Well I wish I would have known that…"

"Why? Would it have changed what you said?"

"I don't know…probably? I can't really see myself ever encouraging you to have sex with _anyone,_ let alone..." Albus shuddered. "Yeah…no. Not something I want to think about, thank you very much."

Albus turned away, pacing to the other side of the room and back, muttering to himself. Rose and Scorpius watched him warily, as if he were a cornered animal likely to strike out at any minute.

"Well I suppose now I know why the Marauder's Map went missing every so often…" Albus trailed off, looking thoughtful. "Speaking of the Marauder's Map…why is it that I never noticed the two of you together on it? I consult that thing pretty regularly. Seeing your names side by side is something that would have caught my attention."

Rose smirked. "We found the Room of Requirement."

Albus's brows shot upwards into the messy black locks of hair hanging down over his forehead. "You what?"

Rose nodded, a conspiratory gleam in her eyes. "It still works. It's slightly damaged from the Fiendfyre, but it still works."

"That's awesome! Where is it?"

Scorpius grinned, obviously sensing that the crisis had passed. "Seventh floor corridor, across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet."

Albus snorted. "Of course it is." He looked back and forth at Rose and Scorpius, seeing the spark that he had always noticed whenever they were in close proximity to one another. He, like everyone else at the school, had just innocently assumed that it was hatred that constantly crackled between the two of them. Apparently, it ran much deeper than that. "So I'm guessing this means that you two like each other now?"

"Well…I mean…"

"Um…well, see…" Rose and Scorpius both trailed off, looking at one another with bewildered, and slightly horrified, expressions on their faces. Was that what it meant? Did they really have feelings for each other? When had that happened? When had they stopped hating each other and started feeling something more?

Albus snorted out a laugh. "I'll leave you two to figure it out, then." As he walked past them, he patted each of them on the shoulder. "Best of luck with that." Still laughing to himself, Albus exited the room, leaving Rose and Scorpius to continue staring at one another in confusion.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter is..."Love and Hate." Hope to see you next time!**


	15. Love and Hate

**Author's Note: It's been almost a week since I posted the last chapter and I'm so sorry for the delay. Real life got a little crazy and I just haven't had the time and energy necessary to write. Hopefully it is worth the wait. There are some parts of this story that are fleshed out better than others, so some chapters - especially the ones leading up to the fight in the prologue - take some more work on my part. I will always do my best to post at least one chapter a week. I hate it when a ton of time goes by between updates so don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you guys :)**

**Happy birthday to Fiona, aka Copper Sunlight! I know your birthday isn't until tomorrow, but I did promise that I would give you my best wishes in whatever chapter was posted the closest. I went back and changed all of the 'asses' to 'arses.' Please let me know if you spot any other obvious Americanisms. That goes for all the rest of you UK readers as well!**

**And, we've officially hit the halfway point! Only a couple more chapters before we catch up with the prologue.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Love and Hate**

Rose and Scorpius remained silent for a few minutes after Albus left. The quiet intensified as they continued to hold one another's gazes, their eyes locked and wary, until it began to feel as if it was beginning to crush them. Finally, Scorpius cleared his throat. "Well…"

"Yeah."

They continued to stare at each other, their bodies rigid, as if braced for a fight, their expressions guarded. Now that Albus knew about them, now that _anyone_ knew about them, they were forced to examine their feelings—something that they had both been carefully avoiding since they had started…whatever this was. They couldn't keep pretending that there was nothing between them, and they both knew it. They were now forced to confront, and define, their relationship, and that fact was making them very uncomfortable.

Scorpius took a deep breath. "What are we doing here, Rose?"

She shook her head in response, her eyes sliding away from his to focus on the floor. "I'm not sure."

"Maybe it's time—past time—we figured that out."

Rose shifted her weight back and forth in discomfort. "Okay…you go first."

Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, only to abruptly close it again. Rose's gaze flickered to his before slipping away again. The silence stretched out, brittle yet unforgiving, as the pair struggled to find the answers to questions they were still too afraid to ask.

Unable to take it anymore, Scorpius blurted out, "We don't have to decide this now. We can take some of the pressure off and…" He trailed off, unsure of himself.

"We need to just…take some time to think…"

"Exactly. We can talk about this later?"

Rose nodded. "Okay…so…"

"So…" Scorpius took a deep breath. "I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

Rose was already backing away from him. "Tomorrow." She spun on her heel and headed out the door as quickly as possible.

Scorpius watched her leave. He lifted a hand to his face with a groan. That had not gone well. And now, he was stuck having to confront the truths that he had been spending so much time and energy trying to deny.

* * *

It had been two days since Scorpius had so much as spoken to Rose. Two days that somehow felt like two thousand. Bloody hell, he missed her. And this time, he couldn't even rationalize that it was the sex he was missing. Sure, it wasn't exactly fun being deprived of that particular part of the relationship, but the times that he most wanted to just shove all of his fears and doubts aside and drag her off into a room somewhere had little to do with carnal wants and more to do with _her_.

Somehow, in the past few weeks, Rose had wormed her way past his defenses and become an integral part of his life. But that didn't mean that Scorpius was comfortable with admitting it—especially not out loud, and especially not to her.

And so he had been avoiding her. Of course, this was made much easier by the fact that she seemed to be doing her very best to avoid him as well. All the more reason for him to just ignore the feelings that were becoming increasingly more difficult to deny. They would go away eventually. Right?

They had to.

Scorpius was desperate to get thoughts of a certain redheaded witch out of his mind. He buried himself in his studies in an attempt to distract himself from anything having to do with Rose Bloody Weasley. And so, he found himself down at the greenhouses, helping Professor Longbottom by packing fertilizer into the Venomous Tentacula pots. It was hard to fixate on his relationship with Rose when avoiding the poisonous spikes and grasping vines demanded his full attention.

Scorpius worked in silence, throwing himself into the task at hand. He was so absorbed that he jumped when Lysander Scamander appeared beside him. He hadn't even heard the greenhouse door open.

"You might want to consider rubbing the puss from a Mimblewort pod on your hands and arms before continuing. It deters the Venomous Tentacula, you know," Lysander informed him in an airy voice. Scorpius had only met Lorcan and Lysander's mother Luna on a few occasions, but it was clear that Lysander had inherited the "loony" aspect of her childhood nickname. While Lorcan had always struck Scorpius as a bit more grounded, Lysander was often very difficult to talk to due to the fact that he was always spouting off obscure, and likely imaginary, facts.

"Thanks, Lys, but I'm not sure we have any of that nearby. Besides, I'd rather not smell like rancid goblin piss for the next two to three weeks if it's all the same to you," Scorpius replied, turning back to the bucket of dragon dung compost beside him.

"Suit yourself." Lysander studied Scorpius carefully. "Is there something the matter?"

Scorpius started. "What do you mean?" he asked, making sure to school his features so that they would not give away his sudden discomfort.

"You seem…off." He paused, cocking his head in curiosity, his clear silver eyes seeming to look right through Scorpius. "I wouldn't worry too much. It's not too late to fix it."

"Fix what?"

Lysander smiled. "Whatever it is that's got you so miserable."

Scorpius watched as the Ravenclaw began to wander away, dreamily weaving his way through the rows of plants. He was certainly a strange one. Scorpius shook off the uneasy feeling that had settled over him. It wasn't as if Lysander could read minds, and yet that was exactly how Scorpius had felt when Lys had fixed him with his gaze. It made him wonder what exactly he was so terrified of someone else finding out. And why. And just like that, Rose was back in his head.

Scorpius groaned in frustration, plunging his trowel into the heap of dragon dung and focusing his attention back on the extremely dangerous plants that he was supposed to be tending.

* * *

Rose paced back and forth across the dormitory floor. She had desperately needed a minute alone—something that was not easy to find in Hogwarts castle. It had been three days since she had last spoken to Scorpius. Sure, they had seen each other in classes and around the school, but it was clear that they were both doing their very best to avoid one another.

Ever since Albus had found out about their relationship, Rose felt like she was desperately clinging to the ability to evade having to confront just what had been going on between her and Scorpius. Just what was _currently_ going on between her and Scorpius. Because, if she was honest with herself—something she was trying not to be—she missed him. A lot.

She missed talking to him. Studying with him. And she missed sneaking around. And as much as she was attempting to convince herself that it was best that they just try and forget about whatever had been between them, she couldn't. It was becoming more and more apparent that Scorpius was a part of her life. As much as she wanted them to, these feelings were probably not going to disappear.

She needed to get her mind off of him. To give herself a little space to breathe—to just be herself. The fact that she was holed up in her bedroom while all of her friends and family were off hanging out and having fun was proof that she needed to get ahold of herself. Scorpius was not important enough to make her this miserable. Or at least he shouldn't be.

He couldn't be.

Frustrated with herself, Rose strode purposefully over to the portable radio and flicked her wand to turn it on. She flipped through the various musical selections before settling on one of her favorite bands, desperately hoping that the tune would be able to drown out her thoughts of _him_.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Melinda Longbottom walked into the room to find Rose laying back on her bed, her foot anxiously tapping along with the beat of the Cracked Copper Cauldrons' newest single. This couldn't be good. The sound of the Cauldrons pouring through the speakers could only mean one thing—something was wrong. Although Rose was a fan of that particular band, she rarely listened to them when she wasn't upset. They weren't exactly known for their uplifting lyrics, as was evidenced by the somber ballad about crushed and bleeding hearts that the lead singer was sobbing out at present.

With a sigh, Melinda lowered herself to sit on the bed next to Rose. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" she asked, softly.

Rose closed her eyes, leaning her head back into the pillow. "What makes you think something's bothering me?"

Melinda nudged her friend in the leg. "Come on, Rosie. I know you better than that." She watched with interest as Rose's eyes shot open, sweeping across Melinda's face warily. Melinda gave her a pointed look. "You don't have to tell me, but maybe you should. Something is clearly wrong."

Rose sighed. She wished that she could just open up and spill everything to her closest female friend. The problem was, she was supposed to keep her relationship with Scorpius a secret. No one could know. She would just have to deal with this on her own. She would be able to figure this whole mess out eventually…right?

Oh, who was she kidding? She needed someone to talk to. And it wasn't like the situation was the same as it had been three days ago. Albus knew. And that changed everything.

This whole thing with Scorpius was becoming way too complicated for Rose to figure out on her own. She needed another opinion. And she knew that she could trust Melinda.

She looked up to find her friend staring at her patiently, her eyes full of compassion. Rose shoved herself up to a seated position, pulling her legs underneath her. "Can you promise me that you'll keep it a secret?"

Melinda looked surprised, and mildly insulted. "Of course."

"Okay." Rose opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to figure out where to begin. Finally, she pushed herself to her feet and resumed pacing about the room. "I've been seeing Scorpius." She chanced a look at her friend's face.

Melinda was shocked, to say the least, but she somehow managed to control her reaction and forced herself to regard Rose calmly, waiting for further explanation. When Rose did not volunteer any more information, she spoke up. "Define 'seeing.'"

Rose blew out a frustrated breath. "Sleeping together, hanging out, et cetera, et cetera."

"Okay. How long?"

"It depends on how you look at it." Rose ran a hand through her hair. When Melinda cocked her head and raised her eyebrow, it was clear she would need to elaborate. "A while. You could argue it's been going on since the incident in the Potions room."

"So when he demanded you go to the hospital wing?"

"We had kissed the night before in detention. We were both a little shaken by it. And then that thing with Goyle…"

Melinda nodded. "So that was the catalyst?"

"No," Rose answered. "That didn't really do it. I think that the building tension when we fought is what finally did us in." She smiled slightly. "Still does."

Melinda watched Rose's face. She was clearly slipping away into her own little world. This was very interesting. She had never seen anyone get to Rose the way that Scorpius could. Usually, it was a negative reaction, but he could obviously affect her the other way as well. And from Rose's current expression, it was very apparent that Scorpius was just as capable of making Rose happy as he was at making her angry. And despite the years of animosity, he had taken care of her when she really needed it. Maybe there really was something there between them, as unlikely as it should have been. Whatever it was, it was going to be interesting to watch.

"So what's the problem?" Melinda asked.

Rose looked over, astonished. "I just told you that I've been shagging Scorpius Malfoy and you ask me what the problem is?"

"No, you just told me that you were _seeing_ Scorpius Malfoy. There's a big difference. And if he makes you happy, which he clearly does, what's the problem?"

Rose shook her head. "The _problem _is that he's _Scorpius Bloody Malfoy_."

Smiling at her friend, Melinda rose. She looked into Rose's eyes, seeing the confusion there. "You're going to need to be more specific."

Rose let out a frustrated groan. "The problem is that this whole thing has just come out of nowhere and I'm not even sure what is going on between us and our parents hate each other and we've been fighting constantly for the past six years and all of a sudden I feel like I'm addicted to him and he just makes me so angry and he's great to talk to and the sex is _so_ incredible and now _Albus_ knows and I told _you_ even though we were supposed to keep it a secret and now all of a sudden I have to define it and I have no idea what he's thinking or what I'm thinking or where the hell we're supposed to go from here." She took a deep breath.

"Wow. Sounds like you needed to get that off of your chest," Melinda commented, somewhat amused by Rose's rant.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Rose laughed.

"Okay. You want my advice?" Melinda asked.

"I wouldn't have confessed if I didn't, Mel."

"I think you need to look really hard at your relationship with Scorpius. Decide whether or not you want him in your life, and then go from there. The bottom line is, you need to figure out what makes you happy, Rose. If you're miserable enough to listen to the Cracked Copper Cauldrons on loop when you're taking a break from seeing him, it's a good sign that there's something wrong here."

Rose nodded. "I just need a little more time to think."

"That's fine." Melinda paused. "Now, why don't you start from the beginning? Tell me everything. It might help you think things through—see it from a different perspective."

"Not to mention the fact that you want to hear all the juicy details," Rose smirked.

Melinda waved a hand dismissively, trying to hide a smile. "Nonsense. That has nothing to do with it."

* * *

That evening, Rose settled onto her spot on the bench at the Gryffindor table at dinner. She felt much better after her talk with Melinda, but she still hadn't quite made a decision about her relationship with Scorpius. Talking through it had made her see that she really had come to care for him as more than great sex, more than a stimulating sparring partner— just _him_.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a swatch of white-blonde by the Slytherin table across the Great Hall. She couldn't help turning her head. The moment she did, her eyes locked onto Scorpius's. How was it possible that a single look from him could cause her entire body to heat up? One look and her heart rate picked up speed, her stomach clenched deliciously, and her chest tightened. One look and she wanted nothing more than to go over to him and throw her arms around him. Damn the consequences.

She wanted to be with him. She just needed a little bit more time. Time to figure out just where she wanted them to go from here. Besides, she wasn't the only one who had required some self-reflection. Scorpius had been avoiding her too. She needed to let him sort himself out before she confronted him with the fact that she had real feelings for him. She just hoped that she would be able to hold out long enough.

* * *

The second that Scorpius walked into the Great Hall for dinner, his eyes automatically sought out Rose. As if she sensed his presence, her gaze instantly snapped to his. And there it was. The jolt that always shot straight down his spine whenever her eyes locked with his. He kept expecting it to disappear, or at least to fade, but it never seemed to.

In that moment, it was all Scorpius could do not to just march across the room and pull her against him, despite the crowd of students and teachers gathered around them. He didn't know how much longer he could take this.

He somehow made it through dinner, although if anyone had asked him what he had eaten, Scorpius was sure that he would be unable to answer. It was clear that he had had enough. Whether Rose was ready or not, they were going to straighten things out between them once and for all—no matter what the outcome. He just couldn't live with the confusion any more. If he was perfectly honest, he just didn't want to live without _her_ any more—without the way she made him feel, physically, intellectually, emotionally. All he could do was hope that after he confronted her, and the dust settled, she still wanted him just as much as he wanted and needed her.

* * *

Rose looked around the Great Hall after dinner, finally admitting to herself that she was searching for Scorpius. When he was nowhere to be found, she shook off the sense of disappointment that had settled in her chest and followed the crowd of students currently exiting the Great Hall. Suddenly, she gasped as someone grabbed onto her elbow, pulling her around the corner and down a deserted hallway.

"What are you doing?" Rose demanded.

"No questions. Just come with me," Scorpius responded, his voice rough.

Rose trailed along behind him up seven flights of stairs and through various back corridors until they finally reached the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Scorpius ushered her inside, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.

He was silent for several moments, his breathing unsteady as he watched Rose intently. She waited. Clearly, he had something he wanted to say. It was only fair if she waited for him to be able to say it. When he finally did speak, his voice nearly startled her—its sudden volume cutting through the stillness.

"I think I might be falling in love with you," Scorpius blurted out.

For a moment, Rose just stared at him in shock, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Scorpius held her gaze, his expression guarded, communicating a level of vulnerability that was completely opposite to his usual demeanor.

After a few moments, Rose gathered her wits and cocked her head at him. "You _think_?"

Scorpius took a step towards her. "I might be falling in love with you."

The corner of Rose's mouth tipped upwards. She edged closer to him. "Care to try that one more time?"

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius closed his eyes. "I'm falling in love with you." His eyes shot open as Rose launched herself at him, her full weight colliding with his chest.

Scorpius's arms automatically came up to wrap around her, holding her to him as her mouth devoured his. He let out a sigh of relief, both at the fact that he finally had her in his arms again and that she had not laughed in his face and walked away at his admission. Clutching her tightly, he turned towards the bed. Rose wrapped her legs around his hips when he started to move, clinging to him as he made his way across the room.

Scorpius tipped Rose backwards, his hands supporting her as he lowered her until her back met the silky sheets. He nipped his way across her jaw, moving his mouth to her ear and whispering, "I'm falling in love with you," before sinking into her and pinning her to the mattress with his weight.

* * *

** The next chapter is titled, "We Need a Plan." Hope to see you next time! **


	16. We Need a Plan

**Author's Note: There is so much freaking dialogue in this chapter, it's not even funny. It's basically all conversations between Scorpius and Rose. Which, of course, means that it took me a little longer to write. I always take more time with dialogue than description for some reason. I hope you enjoy it! One more chapter before we catch up with the prologue! We're getting there, folks!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 15: We Need a Plan**

Rose and Scorpius lay tangled together on the bed in the Room of Requirement. They had missed each other more than they were entirely comfortable admitting, and so, were enjoying being wrapped up in one another's arms again. Rose was curled into Scorpius's side, her head resting on his chest while he twirled and twisted his fingers through the strands of her hair. It would be a knotted mess by the time he was done but, somehow, she just could not bring herself to care.

Rose was beginning to drift off to sleep, lulled by the sound of Scorpius's steady heartbeat, when the rumbling sound of his voice pulled her back to consciousness. "Okay, not to pressure you or anything, but do you think you could save my ego and admit how you feel about me as well?"

She tipped her head back so that she could look up at him, her lips tugging upwards in a smirk. "Probably not the best argument to use. I don't think that your ego needs any more encouragement." When Scorpius fixed her with his gaze, she relented. "I'm falling in love with you too. So fast it's scary."

His face instantly relaxed and he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. Then, he settled back against the pillows, hugging Rose to him tightly.

"It's crazy if you think about it…how fast we went from hating each other to…this," Rose observed, casually tracing shapes on the skin of Scorpius's chest and abdomen with her fingertips.

"I'm beginning to think that we never really hated each other."

Rose frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know about you, but I always looked forward to our confrontations."

"That's true…I guess I've always loved the way that we challenge one another. It's always been fun to fight with you. Even when I thought that I loathed you with every fiber of my being, it was still fun."

"If we actually hated each other, I don't think that we'd feel that way. We just enjoy arguing."

"It's definitely…stimulating."

Scorpius smirked. "Uh…_yeah_. I'm pretty sure that's what got us into this situation in the first place."

Rose laughed, sliding up his body and closing her mouth over his.

* * *

"We can't keep hiding, Scor," Rose spoke up a few hours later.

"What do you mean?"

"All this sneaking around…we can't keep pretending that nothing has changed between us. I don't want to keep pretending that nothing has changed between us."

"Yeah…me neither. It's pretty clear that this thing between us isn't going to end anytime soon. We have to come clean—tell everyone."

"That'll go over well," Rose huffed. "I can almost hear the Howler from my father already."

Scorpius winced. "We really didn't help ourselves, did we?"

"How so?"

"Staging fights, escalating this whole feud between us over the years. It's only served to intensify the hatred between our fathers."

"They'll never accept this. Not the way things are," Rose sighed, feeling defeated.

"Well that settles it. We just have to force them to get along," Scorpius quipped sarcastically.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah…right. Because neither one of them are the least bit stubborn. Should be a piece of cake."

They lay in silence for a while, each stewing in their own thoughts. Unfortunately for Rose and Scorpius, the feud between their fathers was a well-known fact in the wizarding world. A Malfoy dating a Weasley would cause a giant stir. And not the good kind. And that wasn't even taking into consideration how Ron and Draco would react. It would be ugly, to say the least. There was no way that the budding relationship between Rose and Scorpius would be accepted and, knowing their fathers, the reactions would be extreme.

Rose let out a frustrated breath. If she and Scorpius were ever going to have the chance to see what could be between them, they needed to get their parents on more amicable terms. Forget about the rest of the wizarding world, the problem of their fathers had to be dealt with first. They could worry about everyone else later.

"What if we did?"

"Did what?" Scorpius asked.

"What if we made it so that they were forced to get along?"

"How? They're not going to listen to the two of us. Especially with our history."

"So it couldn't come from us. It would have to be an authority figure. Someone they couldn't say no to."

Now she had his full attention. "Someone like McGonagall?"

Rose nodded, her eyes lighting up the way that they did when she was working through a particularly challenging problem. Scorpius quickly tapped down the stirring in his groin at the sight so that he could focus fully on what she was saying. "Yes. If we arranged it so that she was the one telling them that they had to get along better…"

"How could we possibly do that?" he asked.

"Well, she's tried everything else to get us to behave. Maybe if we could get her to believe that it's _their_ fault we treat each other this way? She's already primed for it. She's seen how they act towards one another."

"So…what? We go to her and try to convince her to help us? Not bloody likely. I can just imagine how _that_ conversation would go," Scorpius scoffed.

"No, that obviously wouldn't work. I don't know…" Rose trailed off, feeling somewhat let down.

Scorpius's brow furrowed in thought. "What if we did something drastic? Created a desperate situation that made her think she had no choice but to address the problem between our parents."

"Like one big fight that clearly pointed back at them?"

"It's crazy enough, it might work. Our parents couldn't say no to McGonagall. And if she made it seem like it was in our best interests that they get along…"

"They love us enough that they just might be willing to try," Rose finished.

Scorpius grinned. "We need a plan."

* * *

Throughout the next week, Rose and Scorpius batted concepts back and forth in the hopes of coming up with a concrete plan that they could use to try and end the blind hatred between their parents—their fathers in particular. They finally settled on a basic structure.

Over the next month or so, they would gradually escalate the animosity between themselves, all the while dropping hints that connected the hatred between their fathers to their steadily increasing hostility. Then, they would stage the grand finale—the constantly spiraling confrontations would culminate in one big fight that would hopefully convince McGonagall that she needed to address the problem at the source: their parents.

Rose and Scorpius had had plenty of experience staging fights so they were not too worried. Now they just had to figure out what to do for the final fight. All they had figured out so far was that it should take place on the third floor—with the location being so close to her office, McGonagall was more likely to come and break it up herself, thus observing the extent of the confrontation. One evening, they were holed up in the Room of Requirement going over various options.

"This is going to have to look particularly brutal to get McGonagall steamed enough, so we're going to have to really get into it," Scorpius commented.

"It'll have to be very physical, and with plenty of attempts to curse one another," Rose agreed.

Scorpius nodded. "So how do you want to do this? Do you think we should try and choreograph it? Come up with what we're going to say and do beforehand?"

"That's probably a smart plan. At least to a certain extent. No matter what, though, we're going to end up having to wing it for a good portion."

Scorpius nodded, absently staring around the room. With a few muttered words to the Room of Requirement, the bed and living room furniture disappeared, replaced by mats lining a large, open floor. Rose smiled. "Perfect."

"I think we should begin small and then escalate. Maybe some simple curses that we can block easily?" Scorpius suggested. "Then we can move on to physical fighting?"

"So we start with some spells, and then I'll charge you?" Rose asked.

"Yup. You're usually the first one to switch from magic to fists anyway. It'll feel more natural that way," Scorpius teased.

"Har, har." Rose threw herself at him and gasped as he effortlessly pinned her to the wall. She looked up at him, her head cocked in consideration. "You should put your hand around my throat."

"What?"

"Choke me," Rose clarified.

"I think that's going a bit too far," Scorpius protested, taking a step backwards. "I've never—"

"I know. You're the one that said it needed to be brutal. We have to go further than we ever would in reality if we have any hope of succeeding, Scor." She could see the clear reluctance on his face. "Come on," she pushed. "It's not as if you're going to actually hurt me."

Scorpius let out a long breath of air before stepping back into Rose and gently closing his fingers around her throat. "I am _so_ not comfortable with this."

"Squeeze harder."

"Rose…" Scorpius growled.

"Do it. Maybe not right this second, but you need to leave a mark. We have to be battered and bruised. McGonagall has to go completely bonkers after this stunt. Otherwise it'll all be for nothing and we'll just have made things even worse."

"All right. I'll do it. For now, though, I'm just going to pretend."

"That's fine." In a quick move, Rose had brought her arm up and over his, breaking his hold on her throat, bopping him in the chin with her elbow, and using his momentary lack of balance to knock him to the floor with a swipe of her leg. She grinned broadly as he stared up at her in surprise.

"Where'd you learn that?"

"My mum. She took Muggle self-defense lessons when she was younger. Never know when it'll come in handy."

"That works." Suddenly, Rose found herself tumbling down after him as her legs were wiped out from under her. She laughed as she landed on top of Scorpius. "We should definitely put that in."

"Just please try not to knee me in the groin when you fall," Scorpius commented dryly.

"Oh, don't worry. I happen to be very invested in that particular part of your anatomy." When Scorpius smirked up at her wickedly, all thoughts of fight choreography vanished from her mind and she crushed her mouth to his.

* * *

They spent the next several hours planning out the rest of the physical fighting.

"This just isn't quite enough. We still need something that will make McGonagall decide she has to deal with our parents more severely. None of this will work unless she thinks most of our animosity is their fault. We have to implicate _them_." Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, clearly stumped.

"Well we're clearly not going to come up with anything today. We're both exhausted. For now, let's just focus on making everyone believe that our hatred for one another is getting worse, while we try and come up with the coup de grace," Rose suggested, panting heavily, her hands on her knees.

Scorpius nodded. "Sounds good to me." He looked Rose up and down. "We should probably get some rest. We have weekend homework to finish tomorrow."

Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Stupid Potions essay."

* * *

"Maybe if you weren't such a stuck up little know-it-all!" Scorpius shouted, his nostrils flared in anger.

"_Really_? _I'm _stuck up?! _I'm_ the know-it-all?!" Rose shot back, her eyes narrowing to slits. "I wouldn't throw accusations like that around, Malfoy. You're the spoiled little rich boy with an overly enormous ego and a misplaced sense of entitlement."

"Oh and you grew up so poor, didn't you? Your parents seem to have been able to keep you pretty comfortable growing up. I don't think your argument holds, Petunia."

Rose was tired. And cranky. And she just wanted to curl up in her bed and get some much needed rest after what had been a particularly grueling Transfiguration exam. But no, Scorpius just had to start a fight in the middle of the corridor on their way out of class.

"Well at least my parents didn't raise me to think I'm better than everyone! But then again, what else can you expect from the son of a Death Eater?" Rose barked.

Scorpius's head snapped back as if he had been slapped. At the flash of pain in his icy grey eyes, Rose immediately wished she could take it back. This wasn't how these fights were supposed to go. They never actually hurt each other. And if the hardening of Scorpius's expression was any indication, she had hurt him. Unfortunately, the crowd of people surrounding them meant that she couldn't make it better without blowing their cover.

She watched as Scorpius took a deep breath. "Low blow, Daisy."

Rose nodded, subtly, hoping to convey her remorse. "I've had enough of this."

"Fair enough," Scorpius sneered. "I accept your surrender." With that, he turned on his heel and marched down the hallway, leaving an open-mouthed Rose to stare after him.

* * *

Rose hissed at Scorpius from her hiding place just inside an empty classroom. She had been skulking there for almost an hour, regretting the harsh words she had thrown at him earlier, and waiting for him to come back from the greenhouses where he had been in Herbology class.

When he turned his head and saw her, she motioned him inside. He hesitated, making Rose feel even worse. "Please, Scor. Can we talk?"

At the pleading look in her eyes, he nodded, slipping into the classroom and running his hand down her arm as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Rose let out a shaky breath once the latch clicked shut. She leaned heavily against the wall and covered her face with her hands. "I can't keep doing this for much longer! I want to stop fighting."

"You always loved fighting with me. What's wrong, Columbine? You going soft on me?"

Rose leveled him with a heated look. "This is different and you know it." She sighed. "I don't like fighting with you anymore. Arguing, yes. Fighting, no."

"There's a difference?"

"Of course there is. I'm tired of the animosity. Faking it is just too damn hard. And then things like today happen…it's just causing problems between us, when the whole point of this stupid bloody plan was to allow us to get closer."

Scorpius huffed out a breath and dropped the air of indifference. He just couldn't keep it up in the face of Rose's utter misery. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body into his. "I don't feel any further apart than we were this morning."

Closing her eyes, Rose buried her face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. "I'm so sorry about this afternoon. I didn't mean to say those things about your father. I was way out of line."

"It's alright."

"No it isn't. I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry."

Scorpius pressed a kiss to her hair. "Heat of the moment. It happens. As long as you don't mean it, we don't have to let it affect us."

"I don't. You know I don't."

He kissed her again, holding her close. "I know."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"We'll come up with something soon. Something good. We just have to be patient. And the more you freak out about it, the less likely you are to find the answer."

"You're right. We're top of our class. If anyone can figure this out, it's us."

Scorpius grinned. "That's the spirit."

* * *

**I'm going away this weekend for my birthday so I'm not sure exactly when the next chapter will be up. I promise I will keep working on it whenever I have a free moment, mainly because I'm excited to get to the next phase of Rose and Scorpius's plan!**

**The next chapter is titled, "Sectumsempra." Hope to see you next time!**


	17. Sectumsempra

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! I've gotten so much love and support for this story. I never expected it would get the response that it has. I am so grateful to all of you for taking the time to read my writing, and for the incredible reviews and PMs. I can't even begin to express how much it means to me.**

**Here's the next chapter. We have now caught up to the prologue! Yay! Now we can start to move closer to Rose and Scorpius being able to tell their parents about their relationship.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading. I really hope you enjoy it! And please, don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Sectumsempra**

Three weeks later, Rose was beginning to despair of ever finding the perfect way to convince Professor McGonagall that she needed to address the animosity between the Malfoys and Weasleys. The fights between her and Scorpius had gotten old very quickly. She wanted nothing more than to be able to walk past him in the hallway and _not_ start yelling at him. Arguing was all well and good—and she definitely enjoyed sparring with Scorpius—but Rose had had enough of pretending that she hated him.

One afternoon in late November, Rose was sitting with Albus in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, listening to him tease her endlessly about her relationship with Scorpius. Her cousin had adopted speculating about how the parents would react to Rose and Scorpius as his favorite new pastime. Rose was more than a little tired of hearing his jokes and comments at her expense. Although, in all fairness, she had lied to him for months so she guessed that he deserved the chance to torment her. Still, she wished that he would just shut up already and leave her alone.

Rose was attempting to focus on her Transfiguration homework while tuning out Albus's voice. She was only somewhat successful. He was currently droning on and on about the rivalry between Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. She sighed as he launched into yet another whispered rant.

"I mean, seriously, Rosie. They're going to freak."

Rose set down her quill, finally giving up on being able to concentrate. She leaned across the table to get closer to her cousin, supporting her weight on her elbows. "We're working on that, Albus. We have a plan."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "A plan?"

"Yes," she nodded. "We're going to get McGonagall to force our parents to get along."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Albus asked skeptically.

"We've been escalating our fights. Now we just have to come up with something big. Something that will make McGonagall think that the main reason we attack each other is because of our parents. That way she'll work on their relationship for us, so that when we finally do tell them, they won't be quite so opposed," Rose whispered.

Albus frowned, mulling the idea over in his head. "I don't know…do you really think that'll work? I mean, we've been hearing stories about what they used to do to each other for our entire lives, Rosie. Remember the one when Draco called your mum a mudblood and your dad tried to hex him, but it backfired and he ended up vomiting slugs for the rest of the day?"

Rose sighed as she picked up her quill, once again trying to put her mind to the task at hand.

"Or when your mum punched him?" Albus continued, undeterred by his cousin's waning attention. "Or when my dad almost killed him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom using that spell that no one but Snape had ever even heard of?"

Rose's head snapped up. "That spell…do you remember the name of it by any chance?"

* * *

"I've got it!"

Rose rushed through the door of the Room of Requirement, where Scorpius was stretched out on the couch waiting for her. He sat up when she burst in.

"What?"

"I've got it!" she repeated, striding across the room and throwing herself into his lap. "I figured out how to implicate our parents."

Scorpius grinned. Her enthusiasm was contagious. "Do tell."

"It's a spell. One that hardly anyone knows about—one that I could only have learned from Uncle Harry and my parents."

"Sounds promising."

Rose nodded excitedly. "I only thought of it because Albus was telling stories about the things our parents used to do to one another. It's a curse that Severus Snape invented. Apparently Uncle Harry used it on your dad and almost killed him. Snape had to heal him, since he knew the spell."

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "What's the spell?"

"_Sectumsempra_."

"Never heard of it."

"See? It's perfect. If I use it during our big fight, McGonagall will know that the only way I could have learned it would be at home. And since it's so dangerous, she'll realize that she has to attack the problem at its source: our parents."

Scorpius leaned back, loosely draping his arms around Rose's hips and interlacing his fingers at the small of her back. "It just might work."

Smiling, Rose swooped her head down so that her lips could capture his. When she finally came up for air, she asked, "So, when do you want to do this?"

"Let's give ourselves a few days to settle into the whole plan. Practice our timing. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get hit with any actual curses because we're off by a split second."

"No. Definitely not. Especially since this is a nasty spell."

"What exactly does it do?" Scorpius questioned.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I remember my Uncle Harry saying that it sliced your father up. Lots of blood."

Scorpius cringed. "Sounds pleasant. Yeah…I'd really rather not have to deal with being hit by that."

"And I'd rather not have to deal with you bleeding out in front of me. We'll take a week and work on choreographing everything. Just to be safe. Then we just have to pick our moment."

"Sounds like a plan," Scorpius responded, pecking Rose on the lips before lifting her from his lap and placing her on the couch next to him. "But, speaking of picking our moments, we really have to get our Transfiguration homework done."

"Fine," Rose pouted. "But I can think of more interesting ways to spend our time."

Scorpius flashed her a wicked grin. "So can I, but they're just going to have to wait. Think of it as motivation. The faster you write an essay on the various ways to transfigure furniture into animals, the sooner we can act like them."

* * *

An hour later, their Transfiguration homework finished and their clothes sufficiently mussed, Scorpius kissed Rose goodbye and headed towards the door. "See you tomorrow, Forsythia," he called over his shoulder.

"Wait!" Rose called out. Scorpius stopped in his tracks, turning from the doorway and raising an eyebrow expectantly. "Okay…I think we've both been avoiding this for a little while now. Out of fear, or whatever…but I think it's time to just come out and say it…" Rose paused, taking a deep breath. "I love you, Scorpius."

Scorpius grinned, crossing the room and taking her face in his hands. He stared deep into her eyes. "I love you too, Daisy."

"Scor…" Rose protested.

He lowered his face to hers so that their foreheads were pressed together, their lips a breath apart. "I love you, Rose."

* * *

"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be." Rose was doubled over, her hands on her knees, and her face dripping with sweat as she tried to catch her breath. She and Scorpius had spent the better part of the last three hours going over their big fight again and again. They were both thoroughly exhausted.

It was the first week of December, and if they wanted to put their plan into effect before the winter holidays, they were running out of time. The hope was that they would be able to force McGonagall's hand, thereby getting her to enforce some holiday good cheer on their parents.

Scorpius leaned against the wall, his breathing labored. "Tomorrow?"

Rose shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I just want to get this over with."

"Okay, then," Scorpius nodded. "We'll do it tomorrow afternoon, when McGonagall is usually in her office. We can time it so that the fourth years will just be getting out of classes."

Rose took a deep, shaky breath, turning away from Scorpius and nervously wrapping her arms around her abdomen. "I guess we're really doing this, then."

"Hey." Scorpius's voice was like a caress. "You okay?"

Rose shook her head. "What if something goes wrong?"

Scorpius came up behind her, running his hands up and down her arms. He sighed into her scarlet curls. "It's not like I can't handle it. I think we've proven that over the years. Nothing is going to go wrong."

"But what if it does? I'll never be able to forgive myself if something happens to you because of a curse from my wand."

Scorpius swept her hair over one shoulder, baring her neck. He lowered his mouth, pressing his lips to her skin in an attempt to soothe rather than seduce. "I trust you, Rose. We've practiced this over and over. Besides, it's not as if there aren't professors in this school who could figure out how to heal me."

"This is a serious spell, Scor."

"I know," he whispered, enfolding her in his arms. "It'll be fine."

Rose snorted out a laugh.

"What?"

"Did you ever think that we'd be standing here, worried about how hard it will be to attack one another?"

Scorpius huffed, planting another kiss on her exposed throat. "Never."

Rose turned in his arms, placing her hands on either side of his face and stroking her thumbs over his cheekbones. "I love you."

He smiled softly, wrapping his fingers around her wrists and using his grip to pull his face closer to hers until their lips touched. "And I love you."

* * *

The next afternoon, Rose shifted apprehensively from foot to foot in the third floor corridor. She was waiting for Scorpius to arrive so that they could put the first phase of their plan into effect. It was far more terrifying than she had anticipated it would be. She turned at the sound of footsteps. She had been so wrapped up in her racing thoughts that she had not noticed Scorpius approaching.

He offered her a small smile when he reached her. "Ready for this?"

Rose attempted to return his optimistic expression, fighting her way through the nerves to the confidence she knew she had somewhere within her. "We're prepared. And one way or another, I am so ready to take the next step."

"Yeah, I'm definitely sick of feeling like we're treading water." Scorpius turned his head as a door opened at the other end of the hallway and students began to file out of the classroom and into the corridor. "Ready or not," he murmured under his breath before raising his voice. "You know, Chicory, I'm getting really sick of you!"

Rose immediately settled into the familiar rhythm of verbal sparring that she and Scorpius had perfected over the years. "You're getting sick of me? Seriously, Malfoy? You act as if I purposely seek you out. I'd be perfectly happy to never see your smug face again."

"And yet you can't seem to stay away from me," Scorpius smirked.

Rose barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah…right."

"I don't hear you contradicting me, Petal." Scorpius's grin widened as Rose's eyes sparked, their cool liquid blue heating until the color of her irises matched the burning center of a flickering flame.

"You know, I think I've changed my mind," Rose countered. "I don't think I'd be happy if I never saw your face again." She paused as a flash of confusion crossed Scorpius's face. "I'd rather see it mutilated."

"I think that's a lie." Scorpius raised an eyebrow, watching her in amusement. "I think you'd hate to ruin my perfect cheekbones. It would be a crime to deprive the world of this," he said, gesturing to his face.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Your arrogance is truly unparalleled."

"It's only arrogance if it's false. I think we both know that I'm only telling the truth."

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose registered the small crowd that had gathered to watch their little show. As more classes let out, students were filtering in to see how _this_ confrontation would end. The fights between Rose and Scorpius were one of the most anticipated forms of entertainment at Hogwarts, and this one promised to be epic.

Scorpius was still droning on about his perfection and Rose decided it was time to take it to the next level. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and screamed, "_Silencio_!"

Although his mouth still moved for a moment, no sound emerged from Scorpius's lips. Rose couldn't help the satisfied smirk that tugged at her lips. She had gone a little off book with that one, but the growing crowd had expanded more rapidly than they had anticipated.

Scorpius's eyes narrowed and he flicked his wand in her direction, firing a silent spell her way and knocking her on her arse. Game on.

Rose sprang to her feet, retaliating before she had even regained her balance. Scorpius was able to quickly reverse her silencing charm, but was not fast enough to block her spell.

"_Tarantallegra!_"

Scorpius's legs began to frantically dance beneath him, tapping and gyrating to some unheard beat. He could hear the crowd of students, now completely blocking the corridor on all sides, their voices growing in volume as the battle increased in intensity. He shot a spell in Rose's direction, sending her flying backwards with greater strength than he had intended, causing her shoulders to hit the wall with a sickening thud. Half of the crowd cheered as she crashed, the other half holding their breath until she jumped to her feet.

Scorpius stilled his frantically dancing feet before tensing to readiness as the crowd responded to his opponent's quick recovery. There were shouts and jeers as Rose began to rapidly fire spells in Scorpius's direction while barreling towards him at full speed. Scorpius lowered his wand as she reached him, planting his feet and bracing his body for impact. He caught her as she slammed into him, using her momentum to spin them around so that he could pin her to the wall. He felt the physical charge that was always present when his body pressed to hers. And there was nothing more arousing that Rose Weasley when she was riled up like this.

Scorpius swallowed, preparing himself for the next part of their choreography—the part he was entirely uncomfortable with. He slid his hand from where it had been grasping Rose's arm, moving upwards until he had a firm grip on her throat. He nearly pulled back at her gasp, but the determined look in her eyes as her gaze locked on his prevented him from simply calling the whole thing off. They were committed now. So, instead of loosening his fingers, he tightened them.

Rose waited until she found it difficult to draw breath. She wanted to make sure that Scorpius left a mark on her throat. They needed as much evidence as possible that they were willing to do serious bodily harm to one another. McGonagall needed to feel that the circumstances were as dire as possible. When she felt Scorpius's fingers flex uneasily, she brought her arm up and around his, breaking his hold before he could do it himself. She twisted, jerking her elbow upwards and connecting with his nose. At the crunch, she forced a wicked smile onto her face. She had aimed too high. Oh, well, the blood could only serve to help their cause. Madam Pomfrey would be able to heal it in an instant once they were finished.

Scorpius stumbled back in pain, his hand flying to his face to staunch the blood. He still managed to follow along with the next move of their choreography, however, dropping to the ground as Rose mimed a swift kick to the side of his knee. He swept his leg towards her, knocking her legs out from under her and reached up to catch her as she tumbled down on top of him. Thankfully, her knee managed to avoid unmanning him as she fell. Scorpius flipped her body beneath his, settling between her legs, clasping her wrists in his hand, and pressing them to the floor above her head.

His eyes flickered down to her lips, but he quickly pushed away the desire at the intimacy of the position. He shifted his weight slightly as Rose flexed upwards, rolling them over so that he was now staring up into the cerulean blue of her eyes. He winced as she pried her wrist from his grip and landed a solid jab to his stomach. As he sucked in a breath, Rose struggled to her feet, reaching for her wand as she stood.

Scorpius was making sure to keep half of his attention focused on the students gathered around them, cheering on their chosen combatant. At the first sign of the headmistress's approach, they needed to launch into the last phase of the fight if they had any hope of their plan succeeding. He flicked his wand to deflect the dive-bombing canaries Rose had sent hurtling in his direction, glad for the number of times they had practiced this sequence. It allowed him to scan the crowd for any hint of McGonagall. He knew that time was running out and he could see Rose's body tensing, readying for the inevitable culmination to their duel.

Rose and Scorpius circled one another, occasionally firing spells, while they stalled for time. Finally, Scorpius saw Rose's eyes focus in on something behind him. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Rose's gaze returned to his and she raised an eyebrow in challenge. At his subtle nod, she raised her wand and screamed,

"_Sectumsempra!"_

_"Protego!" _Scorpius shouted, managing to deflect the spell just in time.

_"Impedimenta!"_

Rose and Scorpius were both thrown backwards by McGonagall's spell, landing against the wall on opposite sides of the hallway. Their chests were heaving as they struggled for breath, their gazes locked, grey to blue. It was over. They had done it. Now, they just had to wait to see what the results, and consequences, would be.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Weasley! My office! Now!" McGonagall screeched. The crowd of spectators was quickly and silently dispersing in the face of the intensity of the headmistress's anger.

Both Rose and Scorpius winced reflexively at the sound of the jagged ice in her voice, slowly getting to their feet. The headmistress quickly divested them both of their wands. If the cold fury in her eyes was any indication, their plan was off to a very good start. McGonagall did not say another word. Instead, she turned on her heel and set off angrily down the hall, secure in the knowledge that she would be obeyed.

Rose took a deep and somewhat shaky breath—a combination of relief that they had both come through the fight relatively unscathed and anxiety at what McGonagall had in store for them. She squared her shoulders and followed the headmistress down the corridor, beside the boy who had quickly become one of the most important people in her life.

All she could do was hope that their plan had had the desired effect. That this hadn't all been for nothing.

* * *

**The next chapter is..."The Wrath of McGonagall." Hope to see you next time!**


	18. The Wrath of McGonagall

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I'm excited now that we've moved on past the prologue so this chapter was pretty quick to write :) In the beginning of this chapter, I have included an edited version of the trip to McGonagall's office that took place in the prologue so that you won't have to go back and reread to remember what happened. It includes Rose and Scorpius's thoughts while they are being lectured by the headmistress, so there's some new stuff in there, but don't be confused if you recognize some of the lines. You're not going crazy, you have read them before :P**

**I also have an outtake from this story that I put up, so you should go check out the one-shot posted by me entitled "What the...?" It is Albus's reaction after finding out about Rose and Scorpius. It'll give you a little bit more insight into their relationship as seen by those close to them. I have a lot of fun writing him so I'd appreciate it if you checked that out! I'm also using it as a way to test the waters about the possibility of a multi-chapter fic centered on Albus and my original character, Ava Mathenson. She is in the one-shot, as well. Let me know if that sounds like something that you would be interested in reading. I have included a brief summary of what I'm thinking for that in the author's note for the one-shot. I'm sure Rose and Scorpius would make a few appearances if I end up writing it.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 17: The Wrath of McGonagall**

Rose and Scorpius followed the headmistress through the third floor corridors to her office, their heads bowed and their mouths shut. McGonagall muttered the password when they reached the gargoyle concealing the spiraling staircase. As the entrance was revealed, McGonagall began to stride purposefully, if somewhat stiffly, up the steps. She really was getting on in age. Rose almost felt bad for causing her so much trouble. Although, if their plan succeeded, the aged headmistress would never have to deal with their particular brand of trouble ever again.

Rose and Scorpius paused for an instant and locked eyes, their gazes communicating the riotous emotions the two of them were feeling at the moment. Scorpius reached out his hand, running his knuckles over Rose's arm and smiling slightly when she shivered at the contact.

"Here goes nothing," Rose breathed.

The pair ascended the moving stairs in McGonagall's wake, and then waited silently just inside the entrance as the headmistress moved to stand behind the solid wood of her desk. The portraits of the former headmasters of Hogwarts were whispering to one another, seemingly unsurprised by the fact that these two students had once again found themselves in this situation. Albus Dumbledore lounged in his frame, somehow managing to look stern and amused at the same time, while Severus Snape sat quietly, his dark, intense gaze fixed upon Rose. She shifted uncomfortably and forced herself to look away.

McGonagall grabbed two pieces of parchment and quickly scrawled out a brief message on each before bringing them over to the large Great Horned Owl perched by the window. "They're urgent Zeus. See that the recipients open them immediately."

Once the owl had taken flight, McGonagall turned to the students who still stood with their heads bowed in front of her. "Sit down."

They sat, wincing as some of their bruises came into contact with the padded leather chairs.

"I have just sent letters to both of your parents asking them to come here straightaway. You have taken this little rivalry of yours too far. You're both of age, for Merlin's sake! You are entirely too old to not realize the consequences of your actions. Miss Weasley, are you even aware of what the last spell you attempted to use does?" she demanded.

Rose raised her eyes to the furious woman before her, doing her best to look as though she were proud of what she had done, yet pretending to be ashamed for the headmistress's benefit. If anything would increase McGonagall's ire, it would be Rose faking remorse over such a potentially disastrous incident. "I'm sorry headmistress. My father mentioned it and I thought it would be appropriate."

"Appropriate?! It could have killed him! And Mr. Malfoy! Would you care to explain why Miss Weasley has bruises around her throat?!"

Scorpius pushed down the concern and guilt that he felt at her words and forced himself to merely shrug his shoulders, his gaze still aimed at the ground a few feet in front of McGonagall's desk.

"I have put up with your ridiculous behavior for far too long! It has become apparent that your parents have been unable to talk some sense into you and frankly…" She trailed off at the snort that came from both teenagers at her statement. "Do you find this amusing?" she growled, straightening her shoulders and raising herself up to her full height.

"No ma'am," Rose quickly answered. Now they just had to make sure that they made it seem like their actions were entirely the fault of their parents. "It's just…our parents hate each other. Do you honestly believe that they've tried very hard to dissuade us from fighting?"

"My dad looks proud every time he hears about me winning one of our little skirmishes," Scorpius added. Rose shot him a sneering look of disgust—one that she did not have to fake—at his implication that he actually won _any_ of their confrontations. He ignored her.

McGonagall sighed, shaking her head with disapproval. "Well frankly, I'm at the end of my rope. I have had it with you two and it has become clear that it will take something drastic to alter your behavior before one of you ends up dead. So here is what we are going to do. You will be serving detention every Saturday for the rest of the year and are prohibited from participating in any extra-curricular activities. And _yes_, this means no Quidditch for either one of you." She nodded contentedly at the involuntary gasps this statement drew from the students.

"In addition to this punishment, you are hereby placed on probation. If you even so much as _think_ about harming one another, be it magically, physically, or psychologically, you will be expelled and out of this castle before you have the opportunity to follow through. Do I make myself clear?!"

Rose and Scorpius were staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the furious woman in front of them. They had not expected something quite this harsh but did not dare protest. The fact that they had clearly pushed McGonagall to her breaking point could only work in their favor. So, instead of arguing the severity of their punishment, they both gulped and nodded their heads in silent acquiescence.

"Good. Now get out of my office. Head down to the hospital wing and get yourselves fixed up and then get back to work. If I am not mistaken, you have NEWT level classes that you should be studying for."

McGonagall wrapped up her disciplinary speech to Rose and Scorpius, sat down at her desk, and picked up her quill, effectively dismissing them. "Your parents should have arrived by now. If they are outside, please send them in," she instructed them. She did not even look up as they silently turned and made their way out of her office.

Once they had exited, the headmistress replaced her quill in the ink well but remained seated at her desk, rhythmically rubbing her temples. A session in her office with Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy always left her head aching, and this one had been particularly draining. In all her many years as a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had never encountered a more frustrating pair of students. Unfortunately, despite the fact she had just read them the riot act, she knew that Rose and Scorpius would not stop their destructive behavior any time soon.

"I am getting far too old to be dealing with this nonsense," she muttered to herself.

"Oh, come now, Minerva. They're just being rambunctious teenagers," came the voice of Albus Dumbledore.

"It is far more than that, Albus," she said, her voice weary. "They are going to kill each other if something does not change."

"Oh, posh," Dumbledore responded.

McGonagall's eyes snapped up from the parchment in front of her, narrowing in on the portrait of the former headmaster. "I'm sorry that I'm not willing to brush this off as easily as you. This situation has gotten entirely out of hand. Something drastic needs to be done."

"What do you have in mind?"

McGonagall sighed. "I'm not entirely sure yet. I'll make up my mind once I talk to their parents."

"If you'd like me to intervene, I'm more than happy to—"

"Thank you, Albus, but no," the headmistress interrupted. "I'll deal with this one personally. I have had more than enough of Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. It ends now."

* * *

"Have a seat," Professor McGonagall ordered sternly as the Malfoys and Weasleys entered her office. She conjured two more chairs and watched silently as Ron and Draco glared at one another before taking their seats, angling their bodies away from one another, despite the fact that Draco's wife, Astoria, was separating them. "They clearly were not exaggerating," she muttered under her breath, then raised her voice to address the parents in front of her. "Now, as you already know, there was another _incident_ between your children this afternoon," she began.

Hermione nodded. "We saw the results downstairs. They both looked like they had taken a beating."

McGonagall nodded. "What you could not tell just from looking at them was the severity of this particular confrontation. Rose and Scorpius have been steadily escalating the violence between them for quite some time now. The argument could be made that they have been increasing in viciousness for the past six and a half years, but I am most concerned with the way they have been behaving in the past few months."

"I'm not sure I see what they big deal is, Professor. They've always fought. I don't know what you want us to do about it," Ron interjected.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed, making Ron shift uncomfortably in his seat. "The _big deal_, as you put it Mr. Weasley, is that this particular encounter between Rose and Scorpius crossed a line. It went past being just a disagreement between two rivals, and became an extremely dangerous situation. They tried to murder one another."

Draco huffed. "I doubt it was as bad as all that."

"On the contrary, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall countered, frowning at Draco and Astoria. "Scorpius attempted to choke Rose, to the point that she has some rather serious bruising around her throat." She switched her gaze to Ron and Hermione. "And Rose sent a rather nasty curse at Scorpius, one that could have killed him—a curse that you three," she gestured to Draco and the Weasleys, "are particularly familiar with."

"Which curse was it?" Hermione asked, her attention firmly focused on the headmistress.

"Sectumsempra," McGonagall responded.

At Draco's sharp intake of breath, Astoria's gaze shot to her husband's face. "I don't understand. I've never even heard of that spell," she said, confused.

"Not many have," the headmistress told her.

Hermione turned slowly until she faced her husband. "Ronald. Would you mind explaining to me how our daughter knows about that particular spell?" Her voice was cold, and sharp as ice. Ron could not help but cringe at the sound.

"Harry and I _might_ have been telling the kids stories about school—and _the…encounters_ we used to have with Malfoy…" Ron trailed off, staring intently at the floor, unable to meet his wife's eyes.

"And you _told_ them about that spell?! What were you thinking?!" Hermione shrieked.

"Can someone please tell me what it is that this spell does?" Astoria spoke up.

"It slices you open. Not very pleasant," Draco answered her.

"And you would know best, Mr. Malfoy, since you had the opportunity to experience its effects first hand." McGonagall turned to Astoria, whose already pale face had lost several more shades of color. "It was a spell invented by Severus Snape—"

"That was never intended for anyone but myself to know," Snape's oily voice interrupted from his portrait on the wall behind the headmistress's desk.

"Nevertheless," McGonagall continued, clearly annoyed at the interruption, "Harry Potter found it and, unaware of its effects, used it on Mr. Malfoy."

"It made quite a mess," Snape told them. "Luckily, I was close by and was able to heal him."

"Yes, but I am afraid that, had Scorpius not succeeded in blocking the spell, he may not have been so lucky," the headmistress informed them.

"What do you mean?" Astoria asked, her hand clutching at her chest in concern.

"I'm not sure that anyone present would have been able to identify the spell that had been used on him, and thereby figure out the correct means of healing him, before he bled out. I'm not sure even I have the skill needed to reverse that spell quickly enough, since no one but Severus is really familiar enough with its nuances." She paused, letting the meaning of her words sink in fully. "Now, we have had meetings like this one before, after some of your children's more…disastrous encounters. Clearly, whatever it is that you have been doing to discipline them has not worked. It is well past time that something be done about that."

* * *

Rose and Scorpius limped their way through the doors of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey turned as they entered and heaved a sigh of frustration.

"Are either one of you in danger of dying in the next hour?" she asked, her voice clipped. When they both shook their heads no, she nodded. "Good. Have a seat. I have more pressing ailments to deal with than the results your ridiculous nonsense." Waving her hand at them dismissively, she spun on her heel and began walking towards the opposite end of the room, where two sets of screens had been erected to enclose the other patients. "I'll be back to take care of you two once I fix Colin Hubbard's broken leg and figure out why in Merlin's name Phineas Jones is vomiting up neon purple projectiles," she called over her shoulder. "It may be a while. I just do not have the time to babysit you, so try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

Rose and Scorpius exchanged a glance before moving to sit on a cot against the wall. They hitched themselves up and settled in to wait.

"What do you think is happening in there right now?" Rose whispered once Madam Pomfrey had disappeared behind the screen from which they could hear the sounds of violent retching.

"With our parents, you mean?"

"Yeah. Do you think it worked?"

"Either it did or it didn't. It's out of our hands now. We did everything we could," Scorpius sighed. He scooted closer to Rose, threading his fingers through hers and pressing their palms together.

After a few moments, Rose turned to Scorpius. "What are the chances that we just dug ourselves in even deeper?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know…about fifty/fifty?" Scorpius responded, gingerly poking at his broken nose.

Rose sent him a sidelong glance. "That's optimistic," she quipped sarcastically.

"I don't know," he sighed. "We mentioned our parents as many times as we could. If that doesn't make McGonagall think that she needs to deal with them, I'm not sure anything will."

"But do you think it was enough?"

Scorpius shrugged, bringing his free hand up to tuck Rose's hair behind her ear before stroking a finger over the bruises he had left on her throat. "I've never seen her that pissed."

"Yeah…me neither." She lifted her hand, wrapping her fingers around his and squeezing reassuringly.

Scorpius leaned in, pressing his lips to Rose's forehead. "I think it was enough."

* * *

"Now," McGonagall stated sharply as she surveyed the faces of the adults seated before her. "If there is any hope of reining in this animosity between Rose and Scorpius, we are going to have to address the larger problem."

"And what is the larger problem?" Hermione asked.

"The larger problem is you," the headmistress said, her gaze moving between Draco and Ron.

"Excuse me?" Draco spoke up, clearly offended.

"There is so much hatred between your families—specifically the two of you—that your children cannot seem to see past it. And so," she continued, "in order to fix the problem between Rose and Scorpius, we first have to deal with the problem between their parents. You will need to get along better with one another if there is any hope of preventing your children from continuing these increasingly dangerous attacks on one another."

"If you're suggesting that I _make friends_ with the man who spent our entire education at this school trying to make my life miserable—the man who stood by and let my wife be tortured, you can just forget it," Ron nearly shouted. "If you ask me, Rosie's got the right idea."

McGonagall opened her mouth to respond, but another voice interjected before she could speak.

"Really, Mr. Weasley. If I can forgive Mr. Malfoy for attempting to kill me, surely you can forgive him for being a coward and not challenging his deranged aunt. No offense, Draco," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore cut in.

"Albus, you promised that you would let me handle this," McGonagall reprimanded.

"Yes, of course, Minerva. I was merely providing emotional support."

"I appreciate the effort, but can you please provide it silently?"

Dumbledore raised both hands in surrender, his bright blue eyes twinkling behind the glasses.

"As I was saying," McGonagall continued, sending a curt glance in Dumbledore's direction, "we need to do something to end the hostilities between the Malfoys and the Weasleys. This encounter between your children has shown me that their problem is much more systemic than I had originally thought. It has become clear that they feel that they are making you proud when they attack one another, which is something that I cannot allow to continue. I am responsible for the safety of my students and Rose and Scorpius endanger not only their own lives, but the lives of those around them every time that they cross paths. I have had quite enough."

"So what do you suggest, Professor?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I need some time to come up with a solution. I want the four of you to return in one week. At that time, I will have a detailed plan of action for you to follow. And you _will_ follow it."

* * *

**The next chapter is..."Detention." Hope to see you next time! And please don't forget to go read that outtake, "What the...?" **


	19. Detention

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. There's some fun Rose/Scorpius time in it! If you have not already done so, please check out the one-shot that I posted as an outtake to this story. It is entitled, "What the...?" You'll get to see a bit more of Albus's reaction to finding Rose and Scorpius in the library, as well as some insight into their relationship. I also really want to know if anyone would be interested in reading a story about Albus and Ava. I kind of want to write it, but if there won't be enough people reading it, I don't really see the point in dedicating all of that energy to it. Please let me know.**

**I don't usually reply to guest reviewers unless they ask a question or bring up a point that I feel should be addressed, but I just have to take a moment to thank Metomorpher for their amazing reviews! Thank you so much! What a compliment! I wasn't sure whether I was going to be able to get this chapter finished for today or tomorrow but you motivated me to get it done faster :)**

**As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!**

**And now, onto the story. **

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**Chapter 18: Detention**

It was the first weekend in December, just a few days after the epic fight in the third floor corridor, and Rose and Scorpius were scheduled to complete their first detention, as per McGonagall's instructions. They were supposed to meet Professor Longbottom down at the greenhouses immediately following breakfast. Walking slowly through the hallways, they couldn't help but feel that, despite the fact that it would all be worth it were their plan to succeed, being forced to serve detention while the rest of the school was preparing to attend the second Quidditch match of the season was torturous.

Rose and Scorpius headed towards the doors of the castle, surrounded by the echoing shouts of excited voices. As they rounded the corner, they encountered several groups of students who were chatting enthusiastically while wrapping themselves up in winter gear in preparation for the bitter wind and scattered sleet swirling around the castle. The Quidditch season had started a week later than usual due to some necessary renovations to the stands, and so this match was being held on the first weekend in December, rather than at the end of November, and the temperatures outside reflected the difference that a couple of weeks could make. The day's match was going to be a challenging one for everyone on brooms, with the freezing air buffeting them about, but the people in the stands were going to be miserable as well. Still, Rose and Scorpius wanted nothing more in that moment but to attend.

Scorpius felt the punishment even more acutely than Rose in this instance, due to the fact that the match was between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Had they not put their plan into effect, he would currently have been down at the pitch with his teammates, going over strategies and mentally preparing for what, in this weather, promised to be a grueling few hours. Oh well, some things were more important than Quidditch.

As the students gathered in the entryway began to spot Rose and Scorpius approaching, a silence, heavy with anticipation, settled over them. They watched the pair make their way through the crowded corridor and to the doors, as if they were waiting for a fight to break out at any moment. Experience had taught them that the chances of that happening were very high. When Scorpius reached for the door handle, pulling it open and allowing Rose to precede him through it, everyone around them seemed to deflate in disappointment. Apparently there had been a truce called and so they would not see any excitement from Rose and Scorpius today. They would all have to wait until the Quidditch match for their daily dose of conflict.

As Rose stepped towards the open doorway, she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the icy air that was sweeping into the castle. She turned her head in search of the source of her uneasiness to find Augustus Goyle standing a few paces to her left, along with a group of several other Slytherins. He had been glaring at Rose as she passed, the intensity of his gaze causing a shiver to run down her spine. The pure volume of rage communicated through his eyes was staggering. Ordinarily, Goyle would have been with the Slytherin Quidditch team preparing for the match, as he had been their Keeper before his attack on Rose had caused McGonagall to ban him from playing Quidditch for the rest of his tenure at Hogwarts. And if his current expression was any indication, he clearly hated her for it.

Rose forced herself to turn away from Goyle, but she could still feel his menacing stare on her back, even after she and Scorpius were well past him and the door had shut behind them. She shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to combat the sensation of dread that seeing Goyle had caused.

"You okay?" Scorpius asked her, noting the fact that her complexion had dropped a few shades in color.

Rose looked up at him, forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm fine. Just a little cold."

He nodded, not entirely sure if he believed her. Reaching over with his wand, he tapped her on the head and performed a quick warming charm. "That should help."

Rose saw that Scorpius was continuing to study her face, searching for a sign of what had upset her. He was too good at reading her emotions. She quickly changed the topic, not wanting to talk about what had most likely been nothing. "Can you imagine what it will be like when everyone finds out about our relationship?"

"It'll definitely be a shock at first, but once the novelty wears off…"

"And how long do you figure that will take?" Rose asked, wryly.

"Oh, I don't know," Scorpius sighed. "Four or five years, maybe."

Rose laughed. "Good thing we're graduating at the end of this year."

"It's definitely going to cause an uproar. There's no denying that."

"Yes, but it's not as if we haven't already done that. I mean, you saw the way that everyone in the entryway reacted to seeing us together."

Scorpius smirked. "Is it wrong that I'm kind of looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces the first time they see us kiss?"

"It'll be memorable, that's for sure," Rose replied, grinning up at him. "Hopefully, by that time our parents will be slightly more open to the idea of us together."

"Yeah."

By this time, the greenhouses had come into sight. They ceased their conversation as Neville Longbottom stepped out of Greenhouse Seven and gestured them over. "Good morning," he greeted them. "Now hurry inside. It's brutally cold out here."

Rose had never been inside of Greenhouse Seven. It usually housed the most dangerous plants, and was only allowed to be accessed by NEWT level Herbology students. As she stepped through its doors, however, she saw that it had been emptied almost completely of any species of magical plant. There were a few pots of dirt here and there, along with some stray leaves scattered about the floor but, otherwise, it had been cleared out.

As Neville closed the doors behind them, they were enveloped by the warm, moist air of the greenhouse. After the freezing temperatures of the castle grounds, the interior of the glass enclosure felt like a tropical paradise. Rose could feel her cheeks start to thaw and her muscles relax as the heat began to seep through her skin and down into her bones.

"As you can see," Neville began, "I have removed most of the plants from this greenhouse. Every once in a while it's good to do a nice thorough cleaning. That will be your job today."

He watched the expressions of distaste on Rose and Scorpius's faces as they took in the layers of mold and grime that coated every surface, vertical and horizontal. There was some sort of gooey yellow substance splattered on the windows in the back, and the floor was covered in so much filth that it was impossible to tell what material the surface beneath was made of.

"I expect it to be spotless when I return," Neville continued. "That means that the windows should be crystal clear and the tables should be sparkling. I'll be back in a few hours. Any questions?"

"Are we allowed to use magic?" Rose asked.

"_Aguamenti_ only. I provided you with a bucket of soap and a couple of scrub brushes." He gestured to the corner. "The two of you are legally adults, so I absolutely refuse to sit here and babysit you. I have better things to do. But please remember, you are both serving this detention because you tried to kill one another. I don't really think you would like the consequences if you were to try it again. So please…behave?"

Rose and Scorpius both nodded their agreement. "Okay. Good." With one last meaningful glance in their direction, Neville turned and exited the greenhouse.

Scorpius looked over at Rose. "Shall we?"

Surveying the mess around her, Rose sighed. "I suppose we don't have much of a choice."

"That's the spirit, Buttercup," Scorpius answered with a grin.

* * *

"This is disgusting," Rose gagged as she scrubbed at the layers of green and brown muck plastered across the tabletop.

Scorpius looked up from where he had been struggling to clean his own section of filthy metal. "Tell me about it. When's the last time somebody cleaned this place?"

"I have no idea." Rose set down her scrub brush so that she could wipe the sweat off of her brow with the back of her sleeve. While the temperature of the greenhouse had been a welcome relief from the frigid weather outside, now it felt as if they were made to do hard labor inside of a furnace. Both Rose and Scorpius had stripped off their winter cloaks, ties, thick wool jumpers, and robes, choosing to work in just their shirtsleeves. Scorpius had rolled his sleeves up above his elbows and Rose couldn't help the fact that her gaze kept gravitating to the corded muscles in his forearms as they flexed with the effort of scouring the greenhouse.

Scorpius looked up at her, noticing her stare. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Is it getting a little too hot in here for you, Iris?" he smirked knowingly.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm just fine, thank you. Now get back to work." She turned her back to him, focusing her attention on the stubborn grime she had been tasked with removing. The sudden blast of freezing water that hit her squarely between her shoulder blades caused her to scream out in shock. She spun around to see Scorpius pointing his wand at her, a challenging gleam in his eyes.

"Just trying to help you cool off, Passionflower."

Rose narrowed her eyes and grabbed her wand from her pocket, shooting a jet of water at the still-grinning Scorpius. As it struck him right in the center of his forehead, his smile disappeared. Spluttering, he wiped his hand over his dripping face. He glared at her through the sodden strands of his bangs. "That's it. It is _on_!" he yelled, raising his wand again.

Rose squealed, trying to jump out of the way in time to dodge the water he sent in her direction, but she wasn't quick enough. The water splashed into her stomach, instantly soaking through her shirt. She fired back at him, laughing as he gasped when she landed a direct hit in the middle of his chest before diving to her left to avoid his retaliatory attack.

Things soon escalated into a full scale war.

They raced around the greenhouse, shooting water-making spells back and forth at each other. For a moment, it looked as if Rose had Scorpius cornered, but he managed to feign left before pivoting and evading the latest stream of water from the tip of her wand. Rose skidded around the corner of one of the center tables after him, her feet slipping on the puddles that had coated the grimy floor. She threw her hand out, splashing her palm into the film of water on the metal tabletop to steady herself.

Scorpius immediately took advantage of her momentary lack of balance. He came charging in, slamming into her and using his momentum to spin them, pinning Rose between his body and the counter top. He placed his palms flat on the table on either side of her, caging her in.

"Give up yet, Tulip?" he asked, grinning, his eyes locked on hers.

"Oh, I don't know," Rose whispered, biting her lip. She slid her hands up his arms, looking into his eyes seductively. She moved closer, so that her mouth was nearly touching his.

Scorpius was so absorbed in Rose that he didn't recognize the wicked gleam in her eyes until it was too late. By the time it registered that she had played him, he was already being doused by yet another stream of water from the wand that was now inches from his head.

While he was distracted by the sudden shower, Rose ducked beneath his arm, darting across the room. "I'll never give up!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Scorpius growled, once again hurtling after her.

Rose squealed as her shoes lost their grip on the slippery floor and Scorpius managed to catch her again, wrapping his arms around her to prevent her from escaping. He made sure to get a firm hold on her before raising his wand over her head and, ignoring the frantic struggling of the girl in his arms, muttered the incantation, causing water to pour from the tip of his wand and onto her hair.

"Scor!" Rose gasped, desperately trying to get away. She was laughing hard enough that she was having trouble breathing.

"How about now?" Scorpius asked, finding it more than a little difficult to keep a hold on the wet, slippery, and wriggling redhead. Her hair was completely soaked, its usually wild curls slicked down onto her shoulders and back, with a few strands plastered to her face.

"Never!" Rose screamed again as Scorpius thrust the tip of his wand down the back of her shirt and the freezing water ran down her spine. Even the shock of the cold stream on her bare back wasn't enough to stop the uncontrollable giggles that were erupting from her body, however.

They were both drenched, their hair dripping and their clothes stuck to their skin. Much of the muck and grime that had coated the greenhouse had been transferred to them during the battle and they were completely filthy. In addition to the messy state of their clothes, Rose had a streak of dirt across her cheek and Scorpius's forehead and nose were smeared with mud.

By this point, Scorpius was laughing almost as hard as Rose. He allowed her to turn in his arms, looking down into her sparkling sapphire eyes. She slid a hand up between their bodies, caressing the skin along his collarbone before threading her fingers through the saturated locks of blonde hair at the base of his neck. They were grinning at each other like idiots. Scorpius's gaze was drawn steadily downwards, his eyes lingering on Rose's mouth. Suddenly, the mood of the room shifted, the tension swelling up to spark between them.

"Well, this is interesting."

Rose and Scorpius both jumped at the sound of the voice, springing apart. They turned their heads to see Neville Longbottom standing in the doorway of the greenhouse, a shocked, yet stern look on his face.

* * *

Neville crossed his arms in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "When I came down here to check on you, I was not expecting this." He shook his head in disbelief. "Would one of you like to tell me why, when you are in detention for _attacking_ each other, at the moment, you look like you're anything but enemies?"

Rose and Scorpius glanced nervously at one another. Neville was a Weasley family friend. There was a possibility that they could convince him to keep their secret while their plan worked itself out. Then again, there was a possibility that he would go straight to Rose's father and tell him everything, thus ruining any chance they had of getting their parents to accept their relationship. Judging by the look on Scorpius's face, he was leaving the decision of how much to confess to the professor up to Rose.

Rose took a deep breath. "It looks like we're not enemies because we aren't."

"Then what exactly have you been doing for the past six years? What was that whole fight where you nearly killed each other? I find it very hard to believe that Professor McGonagall overreacted to this extent."

"Neville…"

"At the moment, _Miss Weasley_, I am Professor Longbottom."

"I'm not so sure that you want to be Professor Longbottom right now, to be honest."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Would you care to explain why that is?"

"Because this particular situation is a little more complicated than standard student/teacher protocol can handle."

Neville sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "All right, fine, Rose. Could you please tell me what is going on here? And why I shouldn't owl your parents immediately?"

"Well, Scorpius and I...we've been..._friendlier_ lately," Rose started, clearly unsure how to begin.

"Yeah, the innuendo's not helping Rose," Scorpius interjected. He ignored the glare she sent in his direction. Looking Neville in the eye, he continued, "Rose and I have been seeing each other for the past few months or so."

"Is that a fact?" Neville asked, his eyebrows climbing his forehead.

"Yes," Rose nodded.

"And the reason that you've still been attacking each other on a regular basis...?"

Rose sighed. "Because we didn't want anyone to find out before we could make our parents be more open to the idea?"

"So you haven't told them."

"We're working on telling them."

"Working on? What do you mean _working_ on?"

"We have a plan," Rose told him.

"A plan," Neville echoed, sounding more than a little unconvinced.

"Yes. A plan."

"And what exactly does this plan involve?"

Rose looked over at Scorpius, clearly looking for help in explaining the ridiculously convoluted scheme that they had concocted. "We knew that if our parents were to find out about us, they would be less than thrilled with the idea. Our fathers would probably go completely mad." Scorpius took a deep breath. "So we came up with the idea to make it look like our rivalry was getting worse; stage fights all over the school before having one last battle that would convince McGonagall that she had to deal with the animosity between our parents."

"You know my father, Neville," Rose spoke up. "You know how he would react to me falling in love with Draco's son."

"In love?" Neville exclaimed.

Rose and Scorpius both nodded.

"Then yeah, you're definitely right about Ron's reaction." Neville looked thoughtful. "I can't believe the two of you went this far."

"We didn't have much of a choice," Scorpius stated dryly.

"No, I can see that." Neville's gaze moved back and forth between the sodden teenagers in front of him. "How long are you planning on waiting before you come clean about this whole thing?"

"I guess that all depends on what McGonagall decides to do," Rose answered.

Neville nodded. "All right. I'll agree to keep this a secret," he paused, holding up a hand at the looks of surprised elation on Rose and Scorpius's faces. "I won't tell anyone, on one condition."

"What condition would that be?" Rose asked, warily.

"Clean this place up. It's in even worse shape than when you started," Neville ordered with a smile.

A huge grin broke out on Rose's face. She stepped forward, as if to hug Neville, but he gestured her back. "You're filthy." His face became serious once more. "Now this doesn't mean that I will lie to your father, Rose. Keep that in mind. I'm just willing to let this little plan of yours play itself out. I know how stubborn your father—both of your fathers can be. I'm just asking that you not take advantage of the fact that I'm not blowing your cover. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good." Neville turned to leave. "And please don't forget to dry yourselves off before you go back outside. It's freezing out there." Shaking his head, he made his way through the greenhouse doors, his body bowed and teeth gritted against the bitter wind.

Once the professor had exited, Rose looked over at Scorpius. He widened his eyes and tilted his head, conveying just how close they had come to having everything ruined. "Well let's see what happens now," he murmured.

Rose nodded. Everything had suddenly become very real.

* * *

**The next chapter is..."A Tentative Truce," when we'll find out what McGonagall has planned for the parents :) See you next time! And please don't forget to check out that outtake! I'd really appreciate it. Albus says he would too :P**


	20. A Tentative Truce

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. We get to find out what Professor McGonagall has in store for the parents! Are you as excited as I am for the plan to finally get a move on?**

**On a somewhat bittersweet note, there are only eight more chapters left after this one. I already have ideas for at least two one-shots, though - and I have decided to write Albus and Ava's story, which is guaranteed to have several cameo appearances - so there will be plenty of opportunities to check back in with Rose and Scorpius in the future, don't worry. I'm just not ready to let them go yet. I've been having way too much fun with them :) And if you haven't headed on over to my outtake from this story, "What the...?," to get an introduction to Albus/Ava and to see some more insight into Rose and Scorpius's relationship, what are you waiting for?! Haha ;) **

**In other news, I passed 200 followers this week, which is just so incredibly mind blowing! I never thought that this many people would be interested in reading something that I've written, so I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support! Thank you all so, so much. You're amazing!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 19: A Tentative Truce**

Minerva McGonagall arranged herself carefully behind her desk as the Malfoys and Weasleys took their seats across from her. It had been a week since the battle between Rose and Scorpius and she was sure that she had come up with a solution to the ill will that was currently permeating the air of her office.

"I have put a great deal of thought into how to handle the feud between your families," the headmistress began." As I stated the last time you were here, I believe that the root of the animosity between your children lies in the animosity between their parents." She swept her eyes over the four adults. Hermione and Astoria were listening carefully, clearly interested in preventing any more violence from occurring between their offspring. Ron and Draco, however, were shooting each other sidelong glances, their expressions dripping with disdain. McGonagall sighed. This was definitely going to take some work.

"After much consideration, I feel that I have come up with a plan that will at least alleviate some of the hatred that is obviously present between you over the next few weeks," the headmistress continued, focusing her gaze primarily on the men in the room.

"Here is my solution," McGonagall paused, pinning all four adults with her stern gaze. "Your families will be celebrating the holidays with one another."

At the collective gasp from the parents, McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "I am well aware that you will already have made plans with friends and family, and so I have tried my best not to completely disrupt your Christmas holidays, however I believe that the plan I have come up with is more than fair. And frankly, after the amount of disruptions that I have had to deal with because of your children, it is well past time that you had your turn.

"Rose and Scorpius will, of course, be the primary focus and, as such, they will be spending more time at one another's houses than you will. Scorpius will spend all day Christmas Eve, through mid-afternoon on Christmas Day with the Weasley family. Astoria and Draco will join you for Christmas Eve dinner. Then, Ron and Hermione will escort Rose and Scorpius to Malfoy Manor for Christmas dinner. Rose will remain with the Malfoy family through Boxing Day. And yes, they will be spending the night, so you will have to arrange the proper accommodations."

She looked at the stunned faces in front of her. "I feel that this arrangement will force you all to get to know one another's children. You will have to realize that they are actual human beings, apart from this ridiculous rivalry you have had going on between you since long before you were their age. It will also force you to get to know one another as adults, rather than as the children you were when you began to hate each other. Now. Are there any questions?"

"I think that may be a bit excessive—" Draco began, only to be cut off by an irate outburst from Ron, who had immediately jumped to his feet.

"You're telling me that you expect us to spend Christmas in _Malfoy Manor_?!" he exclaimed, his face bright red.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. That is exactly what I am telling you."

"No."

"_Excuse_ me?" McGonagall asked, her voice lowered dangerously.

"No," Ron repeated, his voice shaking with anger. "I refuse to set foot in that house. I refuse to allow my wife to be subjected to the pain of having to go back there. I'm sorry, Professor, but you're just going to have to come up with something else."

"No,_ I'm_ sorry, Mr. Weasley. I have made my decision."

"How can you make us go back there?!" Ron demanded. "Do you have any idea the memories we have from that place?"

"I really don't think that—" Draco attempted to speak.

"Shut it, Malfoy. I don't want to hear anything from you," Ron spat at him.

"What I am trying—"

"I told you to shut it," Ron growled dangerously. He turned back to the headmistress, ignoring Draco's narrowed eyes and continued efforts to express himself. "Do you have any idea—?"

"That will be quite enough!" McGonagall shrieked, cutting through the men's voices. They both fell silent. "I have heard most of the stories, yes. But, frankly, I do not really care. While I am sensitive to the traumas suffered during the war against Voldemort, I am far more concerned with the war that is currently being waged at my school."

"Look, there is just no way that—" Ron began, his voice raised.

"It's all right, Ron," Hermione spoke up from beside him. "Sit down." She reached out, grabbing onto his arm and pulling until her husband was once again seated.

"No, Hermione. It's not all right! I will not allow—"

"I'm not sure that you understand the situation, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall interrupted sternly. "I am not giving you suggestions. This is not an option for you to consider and then dismiss." She leaned forward, causing all four adults sitting across from her to shrink back under her intimidating glare. "You _will_ do as I say. I have had quite enough of the dangerous and destructive behavior of your offspring. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor," came a chorus of voices. There was nothing like an angry McGonagall to make them all feel like school children again.

"Good. Now, I will send for your children so that we can explain the situation to them. Because, I promise you, if things do not improve between them soon, I will have no problem expelling the pair of them from this school, for their safety and the safety of everyone around them."

Hermione gasped. "But they're so close to graduating—"

"I do not care how close they are to graduation. I do not care that they're months away from taking their NEWTs. I _will not_ permit them to murder each other on my watch, and that is exactly what will happen if you do not address this animosity between your families." She narrowed her eyes at Draco and Ron. "They look to you as an example of how to behave. What kind of lesson do you think your hatred for one another is teaching them? You will do your best to cease the hostilities, or I promise you that your children will pay the price, either by my actions or their own."

When no further arguments were made, McGonagall nodded curtly, satisfied that she had finally gotten her point across. "Good. Now, I have asked for your children to be waiting in the hallway outside of my office while I met with you. If there are no further questions on your part, I'll have them shown in." McGonagall paused, looking around at the faces of the parents. "No? Okay, good." She waved her wand, activating the spiral staircase and signaling to Rose and Scorpius that it was time for them to enter.

* * *

"What do you think could be taking them so long?" Rose asked as she paced nervously up and down the corridor outside the headmistress's office, awaiting the verdict.

Scorpius was leaning against the wall watching her, his thumbs tucked into his pockets. The anxious, rhythmic tapping of his fingertips against his belt was the only sign that his calm, collected exterior was a façade. Looking around them to make sure that they were alone, he reached out and grabbed ahold of Rose's arm, pulling her close to him.

"Relax, Impatiens. You wearing tracks into the floor isn't going to get us up there any faster," he told her, running his knuckles down her cheek.

"How are you not freaking out right now?" she demanded.

"Oh, I am. I'm just not as…_demonstrative_ as you are."

Rose shot him a derisive glare.

"Sorry." Scorpius lifted his hands, palms outward in surrender.

She sighed, shaking her head and threading her fingers through his. "No, I'm sorry. I just want to know what McGonagall is thinking. That's always been the most unpredictable part of this whole plan."

"We made it rather clear that our parents played an enormous part in our attempts to kill each other. If I were McGonagall, I'd have been convinced." After freeing his hands from hers and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Scorpius placed a soft kiss to Rose's temple. "We'll know soon enough."

At the sound of approaching footsteps, the pair reluctantly pulled apart, placing sufficient distance between them so as not to arouse suspicion. Rose resumed her pacing, shooting impatient glances at the entrance to McGonagall's office every few seconds.

"You'd think that they were discussing a plan for world peace, what with the amount of time they're taking," she commented sarcastically.

Scorpius smirked, amused. In truth, he was beginning to feel just as restless as Rose was behaving. In spite of their efforts, there was still a very good chance that McGonagall would not play into their plan. Everything they had done to this point could still prove fruitless, and Scorpius did not want to have to confront the idea of telling their parents about their relationship while their fathers were so blatantly hostile towards one another. This had to work.

Finally, just as Scorpius was about to join the agitated redhead in her marching, the gargoyle at the entrance to the headmistress's office sprang to life and the spiral staircase swirled into view.

Rose glanced over at Scorpius before raising an eyebrow. "Ready?"

"Drum roll, please," he mumbled under his breath. He stroked a hand down Rose's arm, smiling uncertainly, before gesturing that she should precede him up the stairs.

* * *

The headmistress watched as Rose and Scorpius filed into her office, glancing nervously at one another before moving to take their places beside their respective parents. They were clearly uneasy, which made her feel that _they_ were, at least, taking her anger at the gravity of the situation seriously. She wished that the same could be said about their fathers.

"We have come up with a plan," McGonagall informed them.

"Yeah, right…_we_," Ron muttered under his breath.

The headmistress shot him a stern glance. "_Excuse_ me? Something to add, Mr. Weasley?"

"Sorry, Professor," Ron replied, effectively chastised.

"As I was saying," McGonagall continued. "We have come up with a plan. You will be spending the Christmas holidays together."

Rose and Scorpius turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes locking. This was very good news. They immediately schooled their features into looks of distaste and gave McGonagall their full attention.

When Rose looked back towards the headmistress, her gaze was caught by a movement in the portrait hanging on the wall, just to the right of the great mahogany desk. Albus Dumbledore was watching the proceedings with a slightly amused expression on his face. When he noticed that she was staring at him, he smiled at her, silently tipping his hat in her direction and giving her a knowing wink. Rose couldn't help feeling as though the ancient former headmaster had seen straight through her, into her very thoughts. Somehow, it was not as unsettling a sensation as it should have been. Instead, she found herself struggling to hide a conspiratorial smirk, and tuned back into the headmistress's voice just in time to hear McGonagall detail her plan for their holidays.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will be with the Weasleys all day Christmas Eve and you will then spend the night, staying until Christmas midday. Miss Weasley, you will be spending the rest of Christmas, through to Boxing Day with the Malfoys. Your respective parents will be joining you for dinner at both houses." She looked between them. "Is this clear?"

"Yes, Professor," they both responded.

"Good." McGonagall nodded at them. "I am hopeful that this time spent together, during a traditional time of generosity and celebration, will do a great deal to alleviate some of the friction between your families. And make no mistake, I expect results." The headmistress extended the reach of her gaze to include the parents. "That applies to all of you."

She returned her focus to Rose and Scorpius. "I will be closely monitoring your behavior for the rest of the school year. Do not think that, once the winter holidays have ended, your probation will have come to an end. I will be asking for regular progress reports from your parents and teachers about your behavior towards one another. I would also like to meet with you once the holidays are over, so that I may personally assess your progress. And I had _better_ see progress," McGonagall told them, her tone taking on a frightening edge.

Taking one last look at the six faces gathered before her, the headmistress waved her hand dismissively. "You may all go now. I have a great deal of work that I have neglected in order to handle this mess. If I do not see you, have a happy Christmas."

One by one, Rose, Scorpius, and their parents walked through the office door and down the spiral staircase. Once the last figure had exited, McGonagall slumped down in her chair with a heavy sigh. "I need to retire."

"They'll be all right, Minerva," Dumbledore's portrait spoke up reassuringly. "It's a good plan."

McGonagall looked over, smiling tiredly. "I appreciate your support, Albus." She pushed slowly to her feet. It was times like this that she really felt her age. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to."

"Of course." Dumbledore watched as the headmistress made her way out of the office. Once she had disappeared from sight, he chuckled to himself. "Yes, a very good plan, indeed."

* * *

Soon after their parents had departed the school, Rose and Scorpius managed to sneak off to an abandoned classroom for a moment alone. They needed the opportunity to process all that had happened in the past week—and all that would be happening over the winter holidays. As soon as Scorpius shut the door behind them, Rose spun to face him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I can't believe it worked!"

Scorpius chuckled, snaking his arms around her waist and picking her up so that he could spin her around.

"_And_ we get to spend Christmas together!" Rose laughed. "We could not have planned this any better!"

Scorpius placed her gently back on her feet after planting a solid kiss on her lips. "And now for the hard part—trying to make them _actually_ get along."

"Oh, don't be such a pessimist! We got this far. How hard can the rest be, really?"

Scorpius grinned, looking down at the bright smile that was still lighting up Rose's face. "You're right." He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose before pulling back and just staring down at her. His eyes had softened and his lips were slightly curved at the corners.

"What?" Rose asked, tipping her head to the side in question.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I just love you. That's all."

Rose smiled, raising up on her toes so that she could press her lips to his. "I love you too."

Scorpius buried his hands in her hair, holding her to him when she would have pulled away. She sighed, resting her head in the crook of his neck and sliding her arms around his waist to clutch the fabric of his robes, her fingers fisted at the small of his back.

Phase One of the plan was successfully completed. Now, on to the rest.

* * *

**Just a side note: Thank you so much to Same-Old-Anti-Faerytale for the suggestion of having Scorpius call Rose "Impatiens." I love the double meaning and, for some reason, I had not thought to use that flower. Great suggestion :) I am also very grateful to everyone who gave me suggestions for flower names. I've used several of them throughout. I just wanted to single this one out, in particular, since it was so original and seemed to fit perfectly when Rose was pacing back and forth impatiently.**

**The next chapter is..."Discipline with Grandma Weasley." I don't think it will be difficult for you all to guess what at least part of it is about :P Hope to see you next time!**


	21. Discipline With Grandma Weasley

**Author's Note: Okay, so here is the first chapter in what I am calling my "Christmas Trilogy." Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day are going to be separated out into three chapters, although they're not strictly separated by the individual day. They're also going to be pretty long when compared to most of my other chapters. There's just so much that needed to get accomplished that I couldn't help it. In fact, this one is about twice the length of a normal chapter - over 7,000 words! Somehow, I don't think you guys will mind :P**

**This chapter was very difficult for me to write. There are just so many freaking Weasleys! Holy crap! I ended up sending Percy and his family to his in-laws for Christmas because I was way too overwhelmed with writing 29 people in the Burrow for Christmas Eve dinner. I was getting cousins mixed up like crazy and needed to thin out the herd a little bit. I'm sorry to anyone who was hoping Percy would be there, but he felt like the least important, and one of my least favorite, of the bunch. Besides, having his daughter Molly there just made things too confusing when it came to me writing Grandma Molly Weasley (since I can't really just call her Mrs. Weasley when everyone is around, as there are several of those now). So yeah...22 Weasley/Potters plus 3 Malfoys was more than enough. I didn't even have the space to mention all of them as it was. Neville and his family will show up for breakfast on Christmas morning, so don't panic that he isn't in this chapter. He will arrive later.**

**You can expect there to be some fun cousin interaction, some quality time spent with Grandma Weasley, some naughty dialogue between Rose and Scorpius, and a bit of tension between Ron and Draco. All in all, a very action packed chapter. Hopefully I pulled it all off.**

**I really hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, thank you so much for reading and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Discipline with Grandma Weasley**

At half past midnight on December 23rd, Rose was awakened by a very insistent tapping noise against her bedroom window. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she shoved back the covers and shivered at the chill of the hardwood floor against her bare feet. She yawned, shuffling over to the window and pulling back the latch to let Sage, Scorpius's black barn owl, into her room. Sage glided in and gracefully settled herself on Rose's arm, nuzzling her shoulder as Rose removed the piece of parchment from her beak.

"Hi, beautiful," she crooned, lifting her hand to scratch the owl's downy head. "Anything good for me tonight?"

Sage hooted softly, leaning into the caress. "You're such a good girl," Rose whispered. She crossed the room to sit on the bed, coaxing Sage from her arm and onto her lap so that she could open Scorpius's letter.

The students of Hogwarts had been on winter holiday for just over a week now and Rose was finding that she missed Scorpius more than she ever could have thought possible. They hadn't seen each other since before they had boarded the Hogwarts Express to King's Cross Station. It felt like it had been ages since they'd last spoken. It really was incredible how quickly they had become a vital part of one another's lives.

Rose unrolled the parchment, smiling at the sight of Scorpius's meticulous handwriting. They had been writing each other daily, although Scorpius was always careful to send his post back with Rose's owl, or send Sage after dark, so that his very distinctive owl would not be recognized. It was still very important that their parents not find out yet. At least not until some of the hostilities had been diminished. Sage bumped Rose's hand with her head, making the redhead laugh.

"All right." She resumed running her hand over the insistent owl's feathers while she read the note.

_Hello Acacia, _

Rose rolled her eyes at the salutation. It seemed that Scorpius would never stop taunting her with his ridiculous flower names. The scary part was, she was starting to grow accustomed to it. And not just grow accustomed—there was a part of her that was beginning to like it. Somehow, somewhere along the way, the nicknames had turned from ways to antagonize her to terms of endearment. She shook her head, turning her attention back to the letter.

_Hello Acacia,  
__I hope this didn't wake you. I just wanted to say goodnight, and I'll be seeing you tomorrow. I'll be at the Burrow shortly after breakfast.  
__I can't wait to see you,  
__Scor_

Rose smiled, leaning forward to plant a firm kiss on Sage's silky feathers. "Give that to your dad, okay?"

The owl hooted, staring up at her with dark, trusting eyes. Rose took that to signify her agreement. She urged Sage back onto her arm before standing and making her way across the room to open the window, sending the owl back out into the frigid winter air. Rose watched Sage fly away, the powerful strokes of her wings cutting a swath through the night. She stood, smiling softly, until the bird had disappeared from sight. She would get to see Scorpius tomorrow.

As they did every year, the entire Weasley family would be gathering at the Burrow for Christmas. They would be trickling in throughout the day on Christmas Eve, but there was no doubt that the Burrow would be overflowing by the time dinner arrived. No one missed Molly Weasley's cooking. Apart from Charlie, who had shown up from Romania sometime earlier in the week, Rose's family would be the first to arrive the next morning, giving her plenty of time for the forced penance that McGonagall had prescribed for the Malfoys and Weasleys.

Rose and Scorpius were going to have to be very careful over the next three days. It had become clear that they were much more comfortable around one another recently, and they would have to take care not to let themselves slip up in front of the people who knew them best. All she needed was for one of the multitude of Weasleys to notice something between the two of them. Christmas was going to prove to be an exercise in restraint. It would be all too easy to be found out, and they couldn't risk that. Not when they were this close to their plan succeeding.

* * *

Scorpius took a deep breath in an attempt to settle his rolling stomach. He was a bit nervous about what he would find once he entered Weasley Headquarters, and the fact that he had just apparated did not help his queasiness. One of the perks of turning seventeen in the spring of sixth year was that he had passed his Apparition test and, therefore, did not need an escort to the Burrow. At least the tension of his entrance would not be magnified by the presence of his father. That fun would have to wait until later in the day when his parents arrived for dinner.

Squinting his eyes against the pale winter sun, Scorpius looked up at the house. It was clearly a conglomeration of several additions, hastily slapped together and held up by some very powerful magic. Dormers stuck out of odd places, and there were numerous chimneys popping up all across the multi-level, multi-angled roofline. He couldn't help but think that its precarious appearance was a perfect metaphor for the situation he had currently found himself in.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, Scorpius slowly made his way through the garden gate and up the walkway towards the front door. He lifted his hand to knock but, before he had the chance, the door swung open, revealing a comfortably plump woman with rosy cheeks and frizzy red hair that was somewhere in the middle of fading to grey.

Molly Weasley looked him up and down, clearly taking his measure. "So you're Scorpius Malfoy," she said, almost to herself. Her gaze held his for what seemed to be an uncomfortable amount of time and Scorpius found himself struggling not to fidget under its intensity. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind. "Well, come in, come in. It's too cold out there to just be standing about. Plenty of work to be done." She stepped back inside, allowing him to pass before shutting the door behind him.

"Rose!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed. "Get down here!"

There was a brief scuffling sound and, after a moment, Rose appeared on the stairs. Scorpius had to clench his fist at his side to keep from going over to her. It had been too long since he'd last touched her. Somehow, he'd forgotten just how stunning she was. He watched as she descended the last few steps and crossed the room to where he stood with her grandmother.

"Yes, Gran?" Rose asked, folding her arms across her body. From the way she was sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eye, Scorpius could tell that she was having the same trouble keeping her hands to herself as he was. Merlin, he wanted to hold her. But first, they needed to convince her entire family that they were enemies who needed to be negotiated to a peaceful coexistence.

It took all of Scorpius's concentration, but he was somehow able to focus on Mrs. Weasley. She was looking back and forth between him and Rose, a slight frown on her face. Finally, she turned away from them.

"All right. Follow me. We've got more to do than there's time to do it." She marched through the house, with her charges trailing along behind her.

Scorpius looked around him as they walked, taking in the furnishings surrounding him. There was a comfortable, cozy feeling to the rooms they passed through, more so than he had been used to growing up. Everything in his parents' house had always been meticulous. Not cold—he had always felt at home, with none of the impossible perfection that his father had been raised in. His mother had just always kept things impeccably neat and carefully, artfully arranged.

The Burrow was clean, but cluttered. There were what seemed like hundreds of photos scattered about the tables, shelves, and walls, all in mismatched frames. Children's artwork sat beside newspaper clippings; professional portraits sat beside candid shots. In place of the priceless antiques gracing his mother's rooms, Scorpius noted that here, there were knickknacks and heirlooms located haphazardly around the space. Sitting on a single sofa table nearby the twisting staircase, he saw a child's handprint in messily painted clay, an old wooden flute, a handful of what appeared to be dragon scales, a silly little statue of a cocker spaniel, and an old set of wizard chess pieces.

None of the colors and patterns seemed to match. Everything seemed to have been accumulated over a number of years, with little thought to coordination or design schemes. It was somehow very refreshing. The cushions on the couches and chairs were well-worn and slightly lumpy, giving the appearance that multiple generations had slumped into them to read a good book or take a short nap. It felt like a home—relaxed, well-lived and comfortable—and Scorpius couldn't help but take an instant liking to it.

As Rose and Scorpius followed Molly into the kitchen, Scorpius reached his hand out, letting it subtly brush against Rose's. She jumped at his touch, the sparks from the brief skin to skin contact sending a jolt through both their systems. If he didn't get her alone soon, he was sure that he was going to explode. This whole pretending to hate each other after so long a separation was proving much more difficult than Scorpius had anticipated.

Once they had crossed the threshold of the kitchen, Molly whirled around to face them. "All right. First thing's first. Hand over your wands," she ordered, extending her hand expectantly, palm up.

"What?" Rose asked. "Why?"

"Because I am not taking the chance of you two cursing each other in my house. I simply do not have the time to take a detour trip to St. Mungo's today. Not when I have so many other things to worry about." She smiled. "Besides, I've always found that discipline works best when you are prohibited from using magic." She sent them a stern glare. "Now hand them over."

Rose and Scorpius sighed, reluctantly extracting their wands from their pockets and turning them over to Rose's grandmother.

"Now. You will be in charge of setting up the beds for all of the family members who will be spending the night. And a bed for you too, Scorpius, of course," she informed them. "Rose, you know the numbers. Just remember that Percy, Audrey, and the kids will be at her parents' house this year, so no need to set up accommodations for them. I've already transfigured the mattresses and put them in the hallway outside Ginny's old room. The girls will be in there; the boys will be in the twins' old room. Try and divvy the couples up between the other empty rooms if you will. Teddy and Victoire will, of course, be in separate beds, since they're not married _yet_. Then, once you've finished with that, you can clean every window in the house."

Rose gaped at her. "_Every_ window?"

"Yes," Molly told her granddaughter, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"But Gran…can't we have our wands back for that?"

"No magic! You'll just have to make due."

"That'll take forever!" Rose exclaimed.

"It had better not. I'll still need some help in the kitchen. Those pies aren't going to cook themselves, you know, so be sure to make it back down here by four o'clock so that we can get them into the oven on time."

Both Rose and Scorpius were looking at the older woman like she was crazy.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Molly demanded. "Shoo! Go and get to work. Christmas preparations at the Burrow are difficult enough as it is without you dilly dallying."

Scorpius glanced over at Rose and shrugged. He gestured for her to precede him out of the kitchen.

"Oh! One more thing," Mrs. Weasley called after them. When they had turned to face her, she continued. "I have far too many things to see to for tonight to be able to keep an eye on you. Just know this—if you misbehave, I can promise that you will not like the consequences. Is that understood?"

The teenagers nodded, completely intimidated by the look in her eyes.

"Good," Molly said. "Now off with you." She turned her back to them, focusing on the cutting board on the counter where a knife was currently chopping onions.

Scorpius once again gestured for Rose to exit the kitchen ahead of him. "Come on," she mumbled. "The extra linens are in the cupboard over here."

Once they had gathered the necessary number of sheets and pillows, Rose and Scorpius began the climb up to Ginny's old room. The moment they reached the door, Scorpius glanced around them to make sure that they were alone before he dropped the pile of linens in his arms and grabbed onto Rose's elbow, tugging her into the bedroom.

As soon as they were through the doorway, Scorpius pulled her into his body and crushed his mouth to hers. Rose whimpered, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and throwing herself into the kiss. It had been too long since she had felt him against her and she couldn't suppress the sudden desire to just hitch herself up and wrap her legs around his waist.

Scorpius ran his hands up her back, burying his fingers in her hair and tilting her head to the side so that he could deepen the kiss. Their tongues tangled as their hands roamed, exploring territory that had been absent for over a week. If they had stopped to think for a moment, they might have thought that it was a little pathetic just how needy a few days apart could make them. Luckily for Rose and Scorpius, thinking was the last thing on their minds.

Rose tipped her head back, gasping for air, only to groan as Scorpius moved his lips down her throat, licking at her pulse point before gently sucking the skin there between his teeth. She fisted her hands in his hair and rocked against him, lost in the sensation. He traveled back up her neck, nipping at her jaw before settling his mouth over hers again. This time, the kiss was softer and their wild groping gentled to skimming strokes over each other's skin.

With one last tender kiss to Rose's lips, Scorpius pulled his head back, looking at the redhead wrapped around him with a crooked grin. "Hi."

Rose smiled back at him, pressing her forehead to his. "Hi."

Scorpius sighed, pulling her body even closer to his and enfolding her in his embrace. Rose clasped her elbows behind his neck, burying her face in his shoulder and just cuddling in for a few moments.

"I really have missed you, you know," Scorpius murmured into her hair.

"Yeah," Rose whispered, still holding onto him tightly. "I know the feeling." Reluctantly, she pulled back, sliding down his body until her feet were once again planted on the floor.

Scorpius leaned in, gently pressing his lips to her forehead. "We should get to work."

* * *

Rose dragged her end of yet another mattress into the twins' former bedroom, where the boys would be housed for the night. One of her favorite parts of major holidays at the Burrow was the sleepover with her cousins. Of course, she had never had to manually set up their beds before, which severely diminished the joy she felt at the moment. Unlike the actual bed frames that Molly had set up for the adults in Percy and Ron's old rooms, the kids would all be sleeping on mattresses, cramped together on the floor.

Rose and Scorpius dropped the mattress to the ground, their breath heaving from the effort. "Three down, two to go," Scorpius observed.

"You're not counting the ones in the girls' room. That makes seven down, two to go," Rose corrected.

"Why are there so many people in your family?" Scorpius asked, raising his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Talk to Gran and Gramps. They're the ones that had all those children." She walked back to the door, waiting for Scorpius to join her so that they could hoist the next mattress before putting it into place.

Finally, they were down to the last one. Rose readjusted her grip at the threshold of the room, scanning the floor in front of her. "I don't think it's going to fit, Scor."

"Oh come on," Scorpius scoffed. "I'm not _that_ big."

Rose's head snapped around so that she was looking at him, an unamused expression on her face. "Funny."

"It'll fit," Scorpius insisted. "It'll just be a tight squeeze." He winked at her, a lascivious grin plastered across his all too tempting mouth. "You should be used to that by now."

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes in frustration before turning back around and hefting the mattress over to the last available section of floor. After much maneuvering, they were able to wedge all five mattresses into the room, fitting around the two beds that had once belonged to Fred and George.

"That was a lot harder than I thought it'd be," Rose admitted, flopping down on one of the beds in exhaustion.

Scorpius glanced down his body. "I'm surprised you had the time to notice."

Rose shot him a glare. "Would you knock it off? We can't get distracted. There's still a lot of work to do and we can't risk getting found out."

"I know," Scorpius sighed. "We need this to work."

"Speaking of which, I'm a bit worried," Rose told him, sitting up so that she could look him in the eye.

"About what?"

"The fact that we're here. At the Burrow." She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "I mean, it's great because my whole family is here and that will help our fathers behave, but I'm worried that being here means that the plan might not have the desired effect on my father. There are so many distractions here. And with us off doing chores for my grandmother, it's not like he's spending any time with you."

"I think it'll be okay," Scorpius assured her. "I just have to get your Gran on my side." He smiled charmingly. "If I do that—and I think I can—she'll be sure to get your father to lighten up. That woman is scary. Honestly."

"That is very true," Rose answered. She stood slowly, groaning as she did so. "I'm going to be so sore tomorrow."

"Is that a challenge?" Scorpius quipped, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

Rose walked around the bed and poked him in the chest, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Knock it off."

"How is everything going?" Molly's voice in the doorway startled Rose and Scorpius, causing them to jump away from each other. Dammit! What had she seen?

Rose watched as her grandmother entered the room, her gaze narrowed on the two of them suspiciously. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, however, Roxanne and Dominique came flouncing into the room, their cheery voices cutting through the tension.

"Gran! Where do you keep the spare table linens? We can't seem to find them," Dom asked.

"We're also meant to tell you that Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny have arrived," Roxie added.

Molly spun around to face her granddaughters. "Oh, that's good! I was wondering just what was keeping them. And the linens…they're in the…you know what? I'll just show you."

She headed back towards the door, pausing to shoot an intimidating glance over her shoulder at Rose and Scorpius. "You two _behave!"_ she commanded, before disappearing around the corner.

Once they heard her footsteps on the stairs, Rose turned to Scorpius. "Too close."

"Do you think she saw anything?" Scorpius asked, his brow furrowed.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Rose spluttered as yet another soapy splash of water hit her in the face. She shot a withering glare to her right, where Scorpius was purposefully swiping his over-soaked sponge across the window with enough force to send suds flying in her direction, all while humming contentedly.

They had finished around three-quarters of the windows in the house, and Rose's arms were aching from the effort. This whole working without magic thing was definitely not fun. How muggles managed was beyond her. She just couldn't understand how they ever got anything else done when simple household chores were this laborious.

Another surge of water splattered into the side of her head and she whirled to face the grinning boy beside her. "Scor! Stop it! You're getting me all wet!"

_"Really?"_ he replied seductively.

"Ugh, so cliché," Rose complained, flinging the excess water from her own sponge in his direction.

Scorpius lifted his sponge into the air over her head and, before she could stop him, wrung out all of the water into her hair.

"Scor, I swear—"

"Rose! Scorpius!" Molly's voice shouted up the stairs. "Get down here. It's time to get the pies started."

"But we haven't finished with the windows yet!" Rose called back.

"Never mind, just come on down!"

Rose narrowed her eyes in Scorpius's direction. "Don't think that this is over."

"Ooo," he taunted. "I'm terrified."

Rose thrust her fist out, catching him squarely in the stomach and smiling at his sharp intake of breath. Now she was the one humming cheerfully as she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Those windows had better be cleaner than the two of you," Molly commented as soon as she caught sight of them. With a flick of her wand, she removed the grime and soap suds from the pair. "Much better. Now you're actually clean enough to help me cook."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Scorpius smiled at her. "What do you need us to do?"

Molly looked at him appraisingly. "It's good to see you have manners. I think this will work out nicely." She gestured to the kitchen island, where several lumps of dough and two rolling pins were sitting.

"You can roll out the pie crusts. Once they're thin enough, put them in the pie plates and toss them in the oven. Then, we'll spoon out the filling and you can start on the top layers.

"How many pies are we making, Gran?" Rose asked, eyeing the massive number of dough balls in front of her.

"Ten," Molly answered. "You know how the men in this family eat."

Rose nodded her agreement. "Are you sure ten is enough?" she laughed.

"Well, let's hope so. There's no more room in the oven," Molly told her. "Now get started. We have to get a move on."

Rose stepped forward and picked up a rolling pin before laying out a ball of dough and beginning to shape it into a crust. She was quickly joined by Scorpius. By the time they had finished with their second crust, both teenagers were feeling the strain in their already aching muscles.

"Nothing like the good old-fashioned manual labor of rolling out crusts!" Molly commented cheerfully, seeing the slightly pained expressions on Rose and Scorpius's faces. "It's very good for the shoulders, you know. It'll help strengthen you up for Quidditch."

"We're banned from Quidditch," Scorpius reminded her.

"Yes, well. Whose fault is that, then?"

"Touché," Scorpius mumbled.

* * *

"You might want to flatten out that side a bit more," Rose told Scorpius, gesturing to his pie crust. "It's too thick."

"You might want to worry about your own dough there, Buttercup. "You've got a little tear," Scorpius shot back.

Rose looked down to see that he was right. "Dammit," she muttered, using her finger to repair the rip.

"Language, Rose!" Molly reprimanded her from across the kitchen.

Rose winced. "Sorry, Gran."

"There, how's that?" Scorpius asked, holding up his crust.

Rose snorted, seeing that he had rolled down the side she had pointed out until it was almost paper thin. "I think you're overcompensating a bit there, Malfoy."

"Oh, there's no need for that," he responded with a smirk. He quickly balled the dough back up and started over, this time rolling it out into a perfect crust.

Rose gave him a pointed look. There was no way that she was going to get into a perverted game of sexual innuendo with him while her grandmother was in the same room. "Just pay attention to what you're doing."

"I think you'd be better off if you just ignored me and concentrated on your own work."

"My work is just fine, thank you very much," Rose sniffed. "And I think if you'll do a quick count you'll find that I've successfully completed two more crusts than you have."

"It's not a race to the finish, Hellebore."

"Again with the stupid flower names. You'd think you would have gotten tired of that by now."

"Never. Not when they get you so angry," Scorpius goaded her.

"I'm not angry. I'm bored and slightly annoyed," Rose countered.

Scorpius huffed in amusement. "Right."

"Do you two have any idea how alike you are?" Molly interrupted their argument.

Both Rose and Scorpius turned to look at her, their mouths open in astonishment. "We are _not_ alike!" they exclaimed in unison.

Molly merely raised her eyebrow in response.

"We're _not_!" Rose insisted.

"It's actually scary how alike you are. That's most likely why you fight."

"No," Scorpius spoke up. "We fight because she's a stubborn pain in the ars—neck," he amended quickly at the warning glance from Mrs. Weasely.

"And he's a stuck up prat," Rose fired back, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Molly looked back and forth between the pair, an interested expression on her face. "What started all of this between you two anyway?" she asked.

Rose shrugged. "Family tradition, I suppose." If they could convince her grandmother that their fathers were to blame, they might be able to get her on their side.

Scorpius nodded. "It's kind of programmed into our DNA, isn't it?" He smiled. "Besides, it's entertaining. Gives us something to do."

Molly cocked her head, staring intently at the two of them. There was something else going on, she could tell. She just wasn't sure what.

Suddenly, Ron burst into the kitchen, scattering her thoughts. She shook off the suspicious feeling and turned to her youngest son. "Can I help you with something?"

"Nope," Ron answered, making a beeline to the stove. He sent a glare in Scorpius's direction as he passed. "Managing to keep from trying to murder my daughter, Malfoy?"

Scorpius opened his mouth to answer but Molly beat him to it.

"Ronald!" she reprimanded him sharply. "That is no way to speak to a guest!" She reached out and slapped his hand away from the bowl on the counter, where he had been attempting to sneak some of the filling for the blueberry pies.

"Mum!" Ron protested.

"No! I do not want to hear it. Scorpius has been nothing but courteous since he stepped through the front door and I expect to see the same behavior from you."

"But—" Ron immediately fell silent at the glare his mother leveled him with.

"Go find Harry and try to keep yourselves occupied until dinner," Molly instructed him. "Dinner will be ready as soon as the Malfoys arrive."

"Yes, Mum," Ron huffed, shooting one last warning stare at Scorpius before looking back longingly at the pie filling and exiting the kitchen.

Molly turned back to Rose and Scorpius but, just as she was about to resume their earlier conversation, there was a knock at the front door.

"Oh! That'll be your parents, Scorpius." She quickly removed her apron, patting at her hair in an attempt to undo the damage from the heat of the kitchen.

"You two finish up the last few crusts and throw the pies in the oven. Then just grab a few of the dishes from the counter and bring the food out to the table." Molly turned and bustled out of the room to answer the door, leaving Rose and Scorpius to their tasks.

Ten minutes later, the two teenagers were carrying heaping bowls of food out of the kitchen. Suddenly, Scorpius stopped in his tracks. He couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight before him. The Burrow's living room and dining room had been magically expanded, so as to accommodate an incredibly long table. That alone was impressive enough, but the enormous crowd of people crammed into the space was a bit shocking.

He looked around him, attempting to do a quick head count. There had to be almost thirty people squished into the Burrow. The number had seemed large when he and Rose had been setting up the sleeping arrangements but now, when confronted with the actual people, he was a little intimidated. And had Molly said that there was an entire family missing? He had always known that there were a lot of Weasleys, but this was ridiculous.

Just then, Molly walked into the room with Scorpius's parents trailing behind her. Like their son had, they both froze upon seeing the sheer number of people squished into the room. At their entrance, the entire army of Weasley/Potters fell silent, staring at the newcomers. There was an almost palpable tension in the air and Scorpius stiffened at the sudden change in atmosphere.

Luckily, Molly quickly stepped in. "Come in, come in," she urged his parents. "The food's only just ready, so your timing is perfect."

Scorpius glanced over at Rose, who was scanning the room with a guarded expression on her face. When her gaze met his, she tilted her head, her eyes widening with worry.

"Here we go."

* * *

"Okay!" Molly called out, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "Everybody step back from the table! Before you all devour the food, some of you have assigned seats this year."

At the collective groan from the hungry Weasley hoard, she narrowed her eyes. They all immediately fell silent. "Arthur will be at the head of the table as usual, and I will be to his right, Draco, you and your wife will be seated to his left. Ron, you're next to me, then Hermione. Scorpius will be seated next to his mother, and Rose next to him. Clear?"

The people whose names had been mentioned all nodded.

"What about the rest of us?" James called from across the room.

"You may sit wherever you like," Molly replied.

"Sweet!" James shouted, jumping forward and heaping mashed potatoes onto his plate. His example was quickly followed by the rest of the Weasleys as they scrambled to the table before the best food disappeared. Family meals were always a bit of a free-for-all at the Burrow.

Molly sighed and shook her head, turning to Draco and Astoria. "If you will please have a seat?" she asked. "I apologize for the insanity that is Christmas with all of us here. Unfortunately, our other son, Percy, and his family are elsewhere for the holidays. He and his wife are usually able to provide a somewhat more civilized presence but…it is Christmas after all. Nothing wrong with a bit of a festive atmosphere now is there?"

Rose smiled reassuringly at her grandmother. She was clearly a bit flustered at having the very stern and proper Malfoys seated at her table. Their families had had such a long and hostile feud with one another that she wasn't completely sure how to act around them now that they were attempting to mend fences at McGonagall's orders. It was more than apparent that, by seating the Malfoys and Rose's parents nearby one another, and herself, Molly was hoping to facilitate peace while monitoring them for any signs of trouble.

"Uh…Gran?" Hugo spoke up from his place beside his mother.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think it's wise to put Rose and Malfoy—sorry, Scorpius—next to each other. Bad things tend to happen when they're—"

"Oh, they'll behave, don't worry," Molly interrupted. She turned to Rose and Scorpius with a very stern look on her face. "Won't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am," they responded in unison.

Draco and Astoria lowered themselves into the seats that Molly had assigned them, glancing a bit nervously down the table at the pack of hyenas that Rose called family. They were clearly more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people squeezed into the Burrow—and just how raucous that group could get. From what Scorpius had told Rose of his family, they were definitely not used to holiday celebrations like this.

"So, Draco," Arthur began, a bit uncomfortably. "I'm glad that you and your beautiful family could join us. I'm sorry to hear that your son and my granddaughter have not been getting along."

"We appreciate the hospitality," Draco answered, inclining his head in what looked like a gesture of respect.

"Yes, well. McGonagall made it quite clear that something had to be done. Can't exactly say no to that woman, can you?" Arthur continued. "Not that we wouldn't have been happy to have you anyway. That is…" he trailed off.

"Of course."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two men. Finally, Draco spoke up. "I heard that you recently retired from the Ministry," he commented. "Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, wasn't it?"

"Yes, yes I did. That's right," Arthur confirmed, nodding. He speared a green bean on his fork. "Don't quite know what to do with myself now that I don't have somewhere to be at nine o'clock every morning. But then, it does give me plenty more time to tinker around. Muggles, you know. Lots of fascinating toys."

Draco's lip curved upwards. "Ah, yes. So I've heard. You do a lot of tinkering with muggle things, do you?"

"Yes. I find it quite—"

"What is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Ron snarled from across the table.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, _Weasley_. I was merely making polite conversation with your father."

Ron snorted. "Right. And I'm a mountain troll."

"Well you said it, not I," Draco sneered.

Ron shoved back his chair, jumping to his feet. "You wanna say that again, Malfoy?" he growled, his face deepening to a shade of maroon that was remarkable similar to the color of the Christmas jumpers his mother was always knitting for him.

Rose felt Scorpius's hand close over hers beneath the table and sent a quick, nervous glance in his direction. This was not good.

"Sit down, Ronald," Hermione urged, tugging at his belt.

"Yes, listen to your wife," Draco taunted, leaning back in his chair.

"Draco," Astoria cautioned quietly.

"Why you little—" Ron growled.

"That will be quite enough!" Molly shouted. She stared her son down. _"You will sit back down in your chair **this instant!** What is **wrong** with you? I did not raise you to behave like this! What kind of an example are you setting for your children?"_

At the furious, shrill sound of his mother's voice, the color had drained from Ron's face and he immediately lowered himself back into his seat. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Draco smile with satisfaction.

"And you!" Molly continued, turning to Draco. "_You're_ no better. You are a guest in this house, and I don't normally reprimand guests, but these appear to be a special set of circumstances." She looked back and forth between Ron and Draco. _"You should both be **ashamed** of yourselves! Now, this is what is going to happen: you will both eat your dinners and behave like **civilized** adults. I don't want to hear another angry word between the two of you! **Is that clear?"**_

Both men quickly folded under the intensity of her gaze. "Yes, Ma'am," they mumbled.

"Good." Nodding her head curtly, she picked up her fork to resume eating. "It's no wonder your children are trying to kill each other. You're not exactly showing them that they _shouldn't_."

Both men lowered their heads and stared at their plates, thoroughly chastised.

Rose looked to her left and caught Scorpius's gaze. Well, that could have been a lot worse. And now, their plan had clearly found an ally in Molly Weasley.

* * *

It was nearly midnight, and all of the adults had made their way up to their beds ages ago. The younger generation, however, had gathered in the Burrow's living room with a couple of bottles of firewhiskey that Fred and James had managed to sneak into the house. The cousins were all piled together in the too-small space, draped over one another in an attempt to fit.

Victoire had found her way into Teddy's lap, and the rest of the younger family members were scattered cozily across the floor, couches, and coffee tables. Rose looked across the room at Scorpius. He looked more than a little out of place among the sea of Weasley/Potters. And yet, the cousins had somehow just accepted that he was there, quickly forgetting the awkwardness of the situation and behaving just as inappropriately as they always did, despite the presence of Scorpius Malfoy. Albus's obvious ease around the blonde Slytherin was definitely the deciding factor in his acceptance—not to mention the memory James, Fred, and Hugo had of the way Scorpius had cared for Rose after Goyle's attack. All in all, the atmosphere was comfortable and Rose couldn't help but smile at the sight of everyone crammed into the tiny room.

"I still can't believe the way she _yelled_ at them!" Albus was still chattering excitedly about the confrontation between Ron, Draco, and Molly Weasley. "I mean, did you see the looks on their faces!"

"Allow me to demonstrate," Teddy said from his place by the fire. "Draco." Everyone dissolved into laughter as the Metamorphmagus transformed his hair white-blonde, imitating Scorpius's father. "And Ron," he said as his hair turned bright red. He began shifting back and forth, mimicking the expressions of the two men being discussed.

"Gran could have out-intimidated McGonagall there, I think," James spoke up, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"I'd take an angry McGonagall over and angry Gran any day," Fred responded. "Any woman who can make our dads all cower like little girls is downright terrifying if you ask me."

"Here, here!" Hugo hiccupped. He was clearly a bit drunk.

"You know, somehow I feel like I should be the responsible one and take away the firewhiskey. Most of you _are_ underage, after all," Teddy drawled, looking around the room.

"Hmff," Victoire huffed from her perch on his lap. "Responsible? You? Why start now?"

"Hey! I can be very responsible. I'm quite a serious person, you know," he insisted.

Victoire rolled her eyes and shook her head, conveying just how true she believed that assertion to be. Teddy responded by transforming his mouth into a wolf's snout and nipping her lightly on the neck with his sharp, gleaming teeth.

"Teddy!" she squealed. "How many times have I told you not to do that?" The stern expression on her face was betrayed by the laughter in her voice.

The snout immediately disappeared, only to be replaced by a thin French moustache. "Ah, but _Mon_ _Amour_, I cannot help myself," he crooned in a nasally accent, his hand pressed to his heart in an impressively melodramatic fashion.

Once again, the entire room of Weasleys fell over one another, laughing hysterically. Scorpius looked across the room at Rose, his eyes shining with laughter. Their gazes locked. Rose smiled at him, feeling the merriment of the moment shift into something more intimate between the two of them. Scorpius's eyes began to darken, his stare intensifying and Rose felt her breath catch in her throat at its power.

A hard jab in the ribs startled her, causing her to break the connection with Scorpius. She turned to Albus, her eyes narrowed.

"That little staring contest between the two of you was going on just a bit long, don't you think?" he whispered sharply in warning. "You have to watch the eye-shagging, Rose. Someone's bound to notice."

Rose closed her eyes and let out a breath. "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem. Just try and be a little more discreet?" Albus asked her.

"Done."

* * *

**Whew that was a long one! I hope you enjoyed it! ****Just a little side note: Acacia, the flower that Scorpius calls Rose in his note, symbolizes secret love. I thought that would be cute :)**

**The next chapter is..."Wrapped With a Bow." Hope to see you next time!**


	22. Wrapped with a Bow

**Authors Note: Hi everyone! Here's part two of my Christmas Trilogy! I thought that Scorpius and Rose deserved some much needed alone time, so here it is :) Definitely rated M, guys. Sexy times ahead. There will also be some delving deeper into Draco's psyche, which is always interesting for me.**

**Next chapter, we'll be heading to Malfoy Manor, after some Weasley family fun on Christmas morning, of course!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it, and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Wrapped with a Bow**

Rose cringed as the wooden step beneath her foot let out a weary creak. She shifted her weight slightly, lifting up onto her toes and slowly making her way down the stairs to the kitchen. The cousins had all been in bed for two hours, the adults significantly longer than that. The entire Burrow was asleep—all except her.

Once she reached the kitchen, Rose quickly and quietly made her way over to the drawer where she knew her grandmother had stashed the wands she had confiscated upon Scorpius's arrival the previous day. She eased the drawer open, reaching inside and smiling in triumph when her fingers closed over the familiar shape of her wand. Grabbing onto it, she slid the drawer shut again and headed back towards the stairs. Now she just had to get up past Ginny's old room, where all of the girls were asleep, and to the second level of bedrooms to the twins' old room, where all of the boys, including Scorpius, were probably_—hopefully_—snoring away by now.

At the door to the boys' room, she paused, peeking around the corner just in case anyone was still awake. The chorus of snorts and heavy breathing immediately assured her of the fact that they were all happily ensconced in dream land. She eased herself through the halfway open door and scanned the room for Scorpius's sleeping form. He had clearly lucked out in the game of Weasley logic that she was sure had been employed in order to decide who got to sleep in the actual beds. Teddy, the oldest and therefore most entitled, was sprawled across one, while Scorpius was in the other. He was shirtless and the sheet had slid down his body so that it was gathered around his waist. One arm was thrown over his head, the other rested on his chest, showing off a stomach that had Rose's mouth immediately going dry. Merlin, she had missed him.

Forcing herself to focus, Rose raised her wand. She silently levitated a feather that had been laying on the floor, presumably from one of the many pillows she and Scorpius had hauled into the room earlier in the day. It soared across the room before coming to a stop above Scorpius's head. Rose lowered the feather until it began to tickle his nose. With a flick of her wand, she began sweeping it back and forth, hoping that the sensation would be enough to wake him.

Scorpius's nose twitched and he turned his head to the side in an unconscious attempt to avoid the feeling, but another movement of Rose's wand had it following him. He raised his hand to brush it away, blinking his eyes tiredly as he began to wake. When his brain finally registered that there was a feather floating over his face, Scorpius's eyes darted around the room in search of the culprit. His lips quirked as his gaze finally fell on Rose.

Pressing a finger to her lips, Rose lowered her wand and gestured for him to follow her. He looked around at the collection of beds, making sure that the others were still sound asleep before easing back the covers, sliding out of bed, grabbing his t-shirt off of the floor, and tip-toeing out of the room after Rose.

Scorpius found Rose at the top of the stairs waiting for him. She smiled, reaching out and threading her fingers through his.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"You wanna sneak away for some Christmas fun?"

Scorpius grinned. "Absolutely."

"Then come on," she whispered, her voice barely audible, even in the silence of the corridor.

"Where are we going?"

"Outside."

"It's freezing out there," Scorpius protested.

"Well it's a good thing I've got my wand then, isn't it?"

"Yeah. About that. Why didn't you grab mine while you were at it?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm sneaking it right back in the drawer once we're done so that Gran'll be none the wiser."

Scorpius conceded the point.

"Now come on," Rose insisted, jerking her head towards the staircase, indicating that they should make their way down. "Try and stick to the outside of the treads. They're less creaky that way."

Scorpius nodded, carefully following in her footsteps as she descended. Every squeak of the ancient wood, no matter how soft it may have actually been, seemed deafening to his ears. He found himself holding his breath until they had finally reached the ground floor.

Rose tugged on his hand again, pulling him towards the back door. When they reached it, she turned to him, tapped him on the head, and muttered a warming charm before doing the same to herself. Then, taking a bracing breath, she swung the door open to the freezing winter night.

The pair of teenagers raced through the Burrow's back garden, their breath coming out in steamy pants. Rose guided them across the yard until they reached the old shed where she knew the broomsticks—and a healthy supply of spiders—were stored. She skirted around the old wood structure until they were hidden completely from view of the house.

Waving her wand through the frigid air, she muttered a few charms. A gossamer dome started to form around them, shimmering in the light of the Christmas moon overhead. As soon as it had completely surrounded them, the temperature began to warm considerably, until they were quite comfortable. Another wave of Rose's wand conjured a fluffy sleeping bag. She pulled a glass mason jar out of the satchel she had been carrying, into which she deposited a flickering blue flame.

Once she had finished setting everything up, Rose turned to see Scorpius staring at her, a faint smile on his lips. She tilted her head at him in question.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he breathed.

Rose felt a blush creeping up her neck and spreading across her cheeks. She rolled her eyes and attempted to shrug his sentiment off but, just as she opened her mouth to give some sort of sarcastic reply, Scorpius stepped forward and she found that she could no longer find her words when fixed with the intensity of his gaze.

"I'm serious," he whispered, bringing his hand up to ghost his knuckles across the skin of her jaw. He trailed his fingers back into her hair, using his grip to bring her face forward until his lips could cover hers.

Rose let the kiss spin out for a moment, sinking into Scorpius's warmth and feeling her breath catch as his tongue swept across her bottom lip. Steeling herself, she somehow managed to pull back. "Before we get carried away, I have something for you."

Scorpius merely grunted, lowering his mouth to her throat and planting heated kisses along the creamy length before nipping at her collarbone.

"Scor, please," Rose groaned.

Reluctantly, he raised his head, looking down into her sapphire eyes, now darkened with lust. "So what do you have?"

Rose gave him a quick grin before turning and kneeling on the sleeping bag. She reached for the bag she had brought with her. "Christmas presents," she told him over her shoulder. She pulled two rectangular packages out and held them up to him.

Scorpius knelt beside her and took the green and gold wrapped gifts, warmed by the gesture. "You didn't have to get me anything."

Rose shrugged. "Just open them." She watched, somewhat self-consciously, as he gingerly tore through the wrapping paper.

Scorpius smirked as he looked down at the two books that Rose had bought for him. "_Beating Your Way to the Top: A Beater's Guide to All Things Quidditch_," he laughed. "And _The Complete Herbal Reference Guide for Healers._" He paused, reaching out for Rose's hand.

"Well, it's not as if I'll ever have to worry about facing off against you in Quidditch ever again, so I figured that one would be safe. And I know that you want to be a Healer after Hogwarts so…" she trailed off.

"These are perfect. Thank you." He leaned in, capturing her lips with his. "Now," Scorpius told her. "It's your turn."

"You got me a Christmas present?" Rose asked, touched.

"Of course I got you a Christmas present. What kind of boyfriend do you think I am?" Scorpius scoffed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet jewelry box.

Rose gasped as he slowly opened the lid. Inside was the most beautiful necklace that she had ever seen. Hanging from a delicate silver chain was a stunning, and intricately detailed, spun glass rose. The petals were tinted a subtle shade of crimson, so that when the pale light of the flame beside them danced over the glass, the color seemed to glow from within the fragile form.

"It's perfect," Rose breathed, enchanted.

"Turn around," Scorpius whispered, lifting the necklace from the box and gesturing for her to shift so that he could fasten it around her neck.

Rose quickly complied, lifting her hair out of his way. She shivered at the feel of his fingertips brushing against the side of her throat as he carefully did up the clasp before placing his hands on her shoulders. His gentle touch caused goose bumps to spring up along her arms.

Scorpius didn't immediately back away and Rose shuddered as she felt his breath on her skin just before he lowered his mouth, scraping his teeth over the nape of her neck. She bit back a groan, leaning into his caress. When he pulled away slightly, she turned around to face him.

"Perfect," he murmured when he looked down at the pendant that was now settled just below her collarbone.

Rose raised a hand to her throat, running her fingertips across the delicate glass flower. She smiled. "Proof that you _do_ in fact know my name."

"Of course. That's why I got this particular necklace. It's a beautiful carnation, isn't it?"

Rose shot him a look of disdain. "You're not as funny as you think you are, you know."

"Sorry, Hibiscus," he smirked.

Rose shifted to her knees, balanced her weight by placing her hands on Scorpius's shoulders, and leaned in so that her mouth was an inch from his. "Care to try again?"

"Daffodil?" he asked, a cocky look still plastered to his face.

"Uh-uh," Rose whispered, tilting her head to that her breath ghosted across his lips. She trailed her fingertips up the sides of his neck, allowing her fingernails to gently scrape the skin. "Try again."

Scorpius's breathing had begun to quicken. He cleared his throat. "Jade?"

"Nope." Rose swung her leg over his so that she was straddling him, lowering her body until her center was pressed to the rapidly hardening bulge in his pants.

"Oleander?" He moaned as she ground her hips into his. When he tilted his head up for a kiss, however, she evaded. Scorpius's hands were grasping at her hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh. His breath was coming in pants and his smoky grey eyes had darkened to the point that they looked almost black.

Rose shot him a wicked grin before she leaned in and closed her teeth over his bottom lip. "Last try," she whispered, enjoying his sharp intake of breath. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep teasing him. The feel of his hands and the way his breath was feathering over her skin in rapid bursts was definitely getting to her.

"Primrose?" Scorpius murmured against her lips, his voice rough.

Rose groaned at the sound. "Close enough." She crashed her mouth into his, pressing her body as close as possible to the hard planes of his chest.

Scorpius was already tugging her shirt from her waistband in his desperation to get to skin. Rose quickly lifted her arms so that he could pull it over her head and toss it away. The second she was free from the confines of the fabric, and she had rid Scorpius of his shirt as well, her mouth instantly returned to his.

Scorpius growled, the sound rumbling deep in his throat, as he ran his hands up her body to find that she wasn't wearing a bra. His fingers spanned the soft skin of her back on either side of her spine, his thumbs stroking the swells of her breasts. Rose responded by plunging her tongue into his mouth and pushing against his shoulders, urging him to lie back on the ground.

He complied, wrapping his arms full of Rose as she lowered herself on top of him. He slid his hands down, roughly shoving her sweatpants down her hips until she was able to kick them off the rest of the way. Once she was free of her last article of clothing, he rolled them so that her grasping hands could divest him of his own pants.

The second they were both naked, Scorpius threaded his fingers through Rose's and reared back before plunging into her slick, tight heat. They both groaned at the feeling of being joined, after over a week apart and a very frustrating day of being unable to so much as touch one another.

"_Merlin_ I missed you," Scorpius growled into Rose's neck.

"Ditto, baby," Rose breathed, arching her back and changing the angle of penetration so that he hit all the right places inside of her.

Scorpius began placing gentle kisses along the column of her throat as he started to move, drawing little whimpers from Rose. He slid his lips along her jaw until he was able to close his mouth over hers once again. When he released his grip on her hands, they lowered, the fingers of one hand threading through his hair while the other stroked down to the base of his spine.

"_God, _Scor_,_" Rose whispered, her breath catching her throat at the intensity of the sensations that were coursing through her body. She could already feel herself beginning to crest, the waves of pleasure surging up from her core in long, liquid pulls.

Scorpius groaned as he felt her walls begin to flutter around him and increased his pace, his hand sliding down her body so that he could help her along. She shattered in his arms, her back arching and her eyes going blind as he pushed her over the edge. Unwilling to relinquish the feeling of being inside her, he gritted his teeth in an attempt to hold on just a little longer, but the intensity of her climax, and the sheer ecstasy of having her in his arms again, sent him careening after her.

* * *

Rose lay on top of the sleeping bag with Scorpius sprawled across her. His head was resting on her stomach and she was lazily running her fingers through his hair. There was nothing in the world that could relax her even half as well as being with Scorpius. Every muscle in her body felt supple and sated. She glanced down at the white-blonde locks threading through her fingers, noticing that his hair had gotten long enough that the ends were starting to curl.

"You need a haircut," Rose whispered.

Scorpius merely grunted, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"You know, I could cut it for you," she offered.

Scorpius cracked open one eye so that he could look up at her. "I don't know that I really trust you to point a wand at my head."

Rose narrowed her eyes, tugging on the ends of his hair in response, making him grunt in pain.

"Oi!" Scorpius protested, not amused.

After a few more moments of silence, Scorpius spoke up. "So last night went pretty well, all things considered."

"Yeah. Only one major blow up…and Gran put a stop to that pretty quickly," Rose agreed.

Scorpius slowly trailed a hand up her arm. "I'm starting to think that there might actually be a chance of this whole plan working."

"You're only just _starting_ to think it might work? So what were you thinking this entire time then?" Rose asked.

Scorpius smiled into her stomach, turning his head so that he could plant a kiss just over her belly button. "Oh come on, you know it was a long shot."

Rose huffed. "Very true." She sighed. "I think we've got most of my family thinking that you're not all that bad, anyway. That's definitely a step in the right direction."

"Your mum was actually looking at me like I was a human being," Scorpius said, grinning.

"It's a start," Rose laughed. "And I think that our mothers will probably play a big part in getting our fathers to get along better. They've never seemed quite as dedicated to the whole hating each other thing."

Scorpius nodded. "And your Gran yelling at our dads definitely didn't hurt. She's terrifying. I'm glad I didn't get on her bad side."

"You have no idea." Rose was silent for a moment, lost in though. "I'm a little worried about tomorrow night," she finally confessed.

"Why?"

"We'll be in Malfoy Manor." She took a deep breath. "My parents don't exactly have the best memories of that house."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked her, pushing up on his elbows so that he could look her in the eye.

"I overheard a conversation between them a few years back. About something that happened during the war." She paused to collect herself before continuing. "Apparently, my dad and Uncle Harry were locked in the basement while Bellatrix Lestrange tortured my mother upstairs. Your dad was there too. He was the one who took their wands."

Scorpius sucked in a breath. "And you're scared that they'll be too busy remembering that night for our plan to work."

Rose nodded. "I'm just concerned that they'll be having flashbacks the entire time that they're there, completely defeating the purpose of being forced to get along."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Scorpius assured her. "I'm sure my father will do whatever he can to make it easier on them. If anyone knows how they feel, it's him."

At Rose's look of disbelief, he continued. "I'm serious. My father wasn't able to set foot in most of the Manor until a few years before my grandfather died. Whenever we had to go there to visit my grandparents, my dad would always have horrible nightmares afterwards. I would hear him in the middle of the night, screaming. And then I'd hear my mother trying to comfort him. I guess the memories of the people he had seen tortured or killed there were too overwhelming."

He looked up to see Rose listening intently. "When my Grandfather Lucius died three years ago, my grandmother insisted that my dad move our family into the Manor. She was adamant that there always had to be a Malfoy patriarch living in that house. The minute we moved in, my father immediately began performing every cleansing spell he could find and set my mother to redecorating every inch of the house in the hopes of getting rid of all the horrors he had seen there. He acted like the place was haunted." Scorpius paused, thoughtfully. "Hell, for him, it might as well be. Apparently, Voldemort killed some woman right in front of him on the dining room table. That was the first thing that went when we moved in.

"My dad looked exhausted for weeks, like he wasn't sleeping at all. I remember overhearing my mother begging him to go to a hotel or something for the night so that he could get some rest. It took him months to stop cringing when he passed the door to the cellar and almost a year before he could eat in the dining room or set foot in the front parlor. But Malfoy Manor has been in the family for generations, and he couldn't just ignore his heritage, so he had to learn to live with it. I still don't think he's entirely comfortable there, though. It'll be interesting to see what changes he makes when my grandmother passes."

"I didn't know," Rose breathed. "I guess I never stopped to think about how traumatic the war must have been for the kids who were forced to side with their parents—on the wrong side. I mean…I know that it affected the adults in my family—and everyone who fought with them—but…"

"Yeah," Scorpius sighed. "It messed him up pretty bad." He lowered himself back to her stomach and resumed his caresses on her arm. "I think it'll be okay. There's no point obsessing over all the possibilities. We'll just have to wait and see."

Rose closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of Scorpius's hand stroking up and down her forearm. Suddenly, she opened them again, looking down at him. "Your parents are so stiff and proper. How is it that you ended up like this?"

"Like what?"

She gestured to her arm, where his fingertips were gently running back and forth, drawing patterns across her skin. "Casually affectionate."

"My parents are only really that proper in public. They touch more in private."

"Well, obviously, or else you wouldn't be here."

"Okay, _eww_." Scorpius scrunched his nose up and shuddered in disgust. "I really don't need to think about my parents like that. Especially while I'm in bed with you."

"Technically, we're on the ground."

"You say tomato…"

Rose grinned, tugging on his hair until he slithered up her body and lowered his mouth to hers. "Happy Christmas, Scor."

"Happy Christmas, Poinsettia." He dissolved into laughter as Rose dug her fingers into his side.

* * *

The first glimpse of sunlight was beginning to appear on the horizon when Scorpius reluctantly sat up, pulling Rose with him. "We really need to head back inside before everyone wakes up," he told her.

"I know," Rose groaned. "I just don't want to."

Scorpius grinned. "Just think of it this way: we're one step closer to not having to hide the fact that we're together."

Rose reached up and pressed her lips to his. "I can't wait. This sneaking around thing is getting really old." She waved her wand, removing the protective charms that she had placed around them and vanishing the sleeping bag before extinguishing the flame and putting the jar back into her bag.

Both Rose and Scorpius gasped as the icy air swept in to swirl around them. "Hurry," Scorpius complained, rubbing his hands up and down his arms in an attempt to keep warm. "It's fucking freezing out here."

"Let's go." Rose grabbed onto Scorpius's hand tugging him towards the house. They sprinted through the garden to the kitchen door.

Rose reached out and turned the knob, careful to open the door slowly enough that the hinges didn't squeak. She tip-toed across the room and slid open the drawer containing Scorpius's wand, sliding hers back into place beside it. No one would ever know it had gone missing.

She turned and gestured to Scorpius before heading out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. They snuck up to the first landing, where the girls were all still fast asleep in Ginny's old room. "Goodnight," Scorpius whispered, leaning down to kiss Rose.

"You mean good morning," she smiled up at him. When he moved to walk away, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, pulling him back. He chuckled softly, giving in to her desire for one more kiss before gently stroking his thumb down her cheek and turning to continue on up the stairs to his own bed.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter is..."Interrogations and Christmas Pudding." It promises to be another _long_ one! Hope to see you next time!**


	23. Interrogations and Christmas Pudding

**Author's Note: Here it is, folks: the final installment to my "Christmas Trilogy!" I'm sorry it's been over a week since my last post. Real life got in the way a bit and this chapter was another tough one to write. There's just so much going on and so many characters to keep track of. Hopefully it was worth the wait! As promised, it contains the last of the Malfoy/Weasley holiday celebrations, including their time together at Malfoy Manor. It is also pretty long! Another 7,000 word chapter :)**

**I really hope you enjoy this one. I used it as an opportunity to give all of the adults some much needed closure in regards to everything that happened in Malfoy Manor during the war. It's something that I feel needed to happen if Ron and Draco are ever going to accept the fact that their children are in a relationship.**

**There are also guest appearances from some of our favorite characters, so look out for those! We're going to stir things up a bit :)**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Interrogations and Christmas Pudding**

"Happy Christmas!"

Rose forced her heavy eyelids to open at the chorus of holiday cheer coming from her numerous female cousins. After her rendezvous with Scorpius the night before—or rather, a few hours before—she had not gotten nearly enough sleep.

"Rosie, get up!" Lily ordered, bouncing onto the bed where Rose was currently groaning and attempting to pull the covers over her head. "There are presents!"

When Roxanne's voice joined Lily's, Rose finally accepted the fact that she was not going to be allowed to go back to sleep. What little she had been able to get after kissing Scorpius goodnight would have to be enough to get her through what promised to be a very long day. Sighing, she pushed herself to a sitting position and glanced down at the foot of her bed, where a pile of colorfully wrapped presents was waiting to be opened.

With a slight smile, Rose raised a hand to her throat where the beautiful glass rose that Scorpius had given her was still hanging. She couldn't help but think back to the night before, when it had been the only thing that she had been wearing. This had definitely been the best Christmas of her life. Now she could only hope that the evening in Malfoy Manor wouldn't ruin it.

* * *

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" Neville called out as he peeked his head through the Burrow's front door. He walked into the foyer with his wife Hannah, followed by Melinda and his twelve-year-old son, Jacob.

"Neville! How lovely to see you!" Molly called out to him from the kitchen where she was busily preparing Christmas breakfast for the mob that had descended on the Burrow for the holidays. "I'm so glad you could come!"

"Anything I can help you with, Molly?" Hannah asked as she began unwinding the scarf from her neck.

"No, no. Everything's under control. You just make yourselves comfortable," she smiled at them. "Ron! Harry! Neville's here!" she shouted in the direction of the stairs.

"Coming Mum!" Ron bellowed back.

Neville couldn't help but chuckle as he made his way into the living room. There was nothing quite like a holiday spent with the Weasley family.

Several of the Weasley/Potter cousins were already scattered about the room, showing off their Christmas presents. Melinda quickly gravitated towards the corner of the room where James, Fred, and Albus were playing with some new potions ingredients. She settled beside James, leaning over to look at whatever he was fiddling with. Neville closed his eyes briefly in a silent prayer that his daughter would make it through the day with her eyebrows intact. One could never quite be sure what would happen during one of those boys' experiments.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neville saw a patch of white-blonde hair. He turned to see Scorpius pouring himself a glass of water over at the sideboard. "Want something to drink?" he asked his wife.

"Sure," Hannah smiled at him. "Would you mind getting me a cup of tea?"

Neville nodded before making his way over towards his student. "So," he murmured once he was beside Scorpius. "How is everything going?"

Scorpius shot him a sideways glance. "Pretty well, thanks Professor."

"Everything went smoothly last night then? No bloodshed?"

"There was a bit of an argument, but Mrs. Weasley—Molly, that is—intervened." Scorpius turned to look Neville in the eyes. "We really appreciate you keeping this to yourself."

Neville shrugged. "I can understand why you'd need to but I'm not exactly fond of hiding something like this from one of my best mates. Hopefully all of this nonsense will be over soon and you'll be able to come clean."

"Fingers crossed," Scorpius whispered, before making his way across the room and lowering himself onto the floor beside Albus. His gaze slid to Rose, who was sitting in front of the fire a few feet away, talking with Dominique while keeping an eye on the concoction in front of James and Fred, which was currently emitting a rather heavy cloud of purple smoke and hiccupping. Their eyes locked for a moment and she subtly tilted her head in question about his conversation with Neville. He gave her a reassuring smile and a quick wink before turning his attention back to her cousins.

* * *

"How's it going, Neville?" Harry asked, clapping his old friend on the back as he entered the room.

"Can't complain," Neville replied. When Ron walked through the doorway behind Harry, however, Neville had to concentrate on not tensing up. He really did not like having to keep secrets from Ron. Rose and Scorpius had better figure this thing out quickly, because there was no way that he wanted to have to be the one to let Ron know that his precious baby girl was dating the son of his archenemy. He had a feeling that the phrase 'don't kill the messenger' would be completely lost on Ron were he to hear that particular bit of news.

"You all right, Neville?"

The sound of Harry's voice caused Neville to start. He had obviously zoned out of the conversation during his thoughts about Rose and Scorpius. "Yes. I'm fine, sorry. Just a bit distracted. I was thinking over some of my lesson plans. The second years are progressing quite nicely so I'm planning on accelerating their education a bit," he quickly recovered.

"Ah," Harry laughed. "Professor Longbottom. That still feels strange to me. Sometimes I wake up in the morning half expecting to be back at Hogwarts. It's amazing how quickly time goes, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Neville nodded, glad for the change in subject. "It's even more incredible to realize that our children are old enough to be attending."

"One of mine's already finished," Harry said, his voice full of awe.

"Don't _you_ feel old?" Neville laughed.

"So, Neville," Ron spoke up. "I've been meaning to ask you. What do you think of Scorpius?" he questioned, lowering his voice so as not to be overheard.

"W-what?" Neville spluttered. He took a quick sip of orange juice to moisten his suddenly dry throat and tried again. "Why would you ask me that?"

Ron gave him a curious look. "Because you're the boy's teacher, so I figure you must know him pretty well. I want to make sure that McGonagall isn't trying to force my Rosie to get along better with a boy who could very well be just like his father was at that age."

"Right, of course." Neville cleared his throat. "That makes sense." He considered for a moment before answering. "I happen to like Scorpius. He's very bright, hard-working. Has a good sense of humor. Most importantly, apart from the rivalry with Rose, I've never known him to misbehave. There really isn't much of what we hated about Draco in him, in my opinion."

Ron looked a bit skeptical. "Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Neville knew he needed to change the subject before he let something slip that he shouldn't. He had made it very clear to Rose and Scorpius that he refused to lie for them and he was concerned that, with this particular line of questioning, Ron would put him in a position where he would either have to tell their secret or lie to one of his best friends. "You know, you really should give him a chance, Ron." His gaze flitted about the room, looking for a distraction, before landing on his son. "Jacob Francis! I see you sneaking pastries into your pockets!" Glad for the excuse to escape, Neville turned back to Ron. "If you'll pardon me, I really must go discipline my child."

* * *

"Come and get it!" Molly called out and there was a sudden desperate scramble of bodies as the entire Weasley/Potter clan fought their way over to the piles of food that had been set out on the massive tables, still set up from the previous night's dinner.

Scorpius trailed along behind the swarm, amused at their antics.

"Twenty-six years later and I'm still not quite used to the Weasley family's obsession with food." Scorpius turned to see Harry Potter coming up beside him.

"It's definitely impressive," Scorpius responded, a little wary of the man next to him. He had never really interacted much with Albus's father and he was unsure of how Harry would view him, especially now that he knew some of the history behind the animosity between Draco and the Golden Trio.

"I've been meaning to bring something up." Harry cleared his throat, looking a bit nervous. Scorpius merely continued to watch him expectantly. "I think I owe you an apology."

At Harry's words, Scorpius's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "An apology? What for?" he asked, confused.

"For the part that I played in Rose using _Sectumsempra_ on you," Harry continued. "I never should have told anyone about that spell, especially children. It is far too dangerous to be floating around out there and so, I'm sorry that your life was put in jeopardy because I chose to brag."

Scorpius's mouth was hanging open in surprise. Finally he managed to gather his wits enough to respond. "I appreciate that, but there's really no need to apologize. I don't think it was your fault. Rose and I are both old enough to make our own choices."

Harry nodded, giving Draco's son a brief smile. There was something he liked about this boy. While there was still a certain amount of teenage arrogance swirling around him, there was none of the haughtiness that had characterized his father while they were still at school. And the kid could hold his own. Harry knew from experience that walking into a house filled with Weasleys could be more than a little intimidating, but Scorpius had handled himself very well from what Harry had seen.

Ginny walked up with a plate of food, wrapping her free hand around her husband's arm. "You two had better hurry up if you want to eat. No telling how quickly the food will disappear with this lot around."

"Good point." Harry smiled down at his wife. "Shall we?" he asked. "You look like you'll be ready for seconds soon."

Ginny shot him a look before including Scorpius in her gaze. "I was serious, you know. Take it from someone who survived _years_ in this house surrounded by those animals. If you don't want to starve, be prepared to fight dirty." She smirked before dragging Harry off towards the buffet.

Scorpius watched them leave, thinking about what Harry had said to him. The older man definitely didn't owe him an apology. Scorpius had to suppress a laugh at the thought that he actually felt kind of grateful to Harry, not only for giving Rose the brilliant idea to use that spell, but also because Harry's advice about the Sopophorous bean had played a very key role in getting the two of them together in the first place.

"Scorpius!" At the sound of his name, he looked over to see Molly Weasley beckoning him over. She had once again reserved the seats closest to her for him and Rose, as well as Ron and Hermione. Thank Merlin for Rose's grandmother.

"What was that about?" Rose whispered out of the corner of her mouth when Scorpius took his place beside her.

"Not important," he answered, glad for the cacophony of sound going on around them. He shot Rose a quick grin. "You know, I think I quite like your family."

* * *

At half past one, it was time for Rose to go upstairs and change for dinner at Malfoy Manor. The morning had been fairly uneventful and, as a result, she was even more concerned about what the evening might hold. An awful lot could still go wrong before the night was over.

She pulled out the dress she had packed for the semi-formal dinner with the Malfoys and ironed out the wrinkles with a wave of her wand. The dress was simple, yet elegant—a black, long-sleeved wrap with a deep V-neck that cinched at her waist. She ran her hands down her sides, smoothing the silky fabric and attempting to still the tremors in her fingertips. The anticipation of everything that could happen in the next few hours had her more than a little anxious.

Rose crossed the room to the mirror and began to carefully apply some makeup to her face. A woman's war paint. After smoothing on a touch of lip color, she felt slightly more in control. She and Scorpius had done everything that they could to make their plan succeed. Now they just had to trust that their fathers wouldn't kill each other over Christmas dinner. And that her parents wouldn't immediately suffer from crippling flashbacks the second they set foot in Malfoy Manor.

Taking a deep breath, Rose forced the negative thoughts from her head. Everything would be fine. She stepped into her shoes and took one last look in the mirror. The woman staring back at her looked entirely more confident than she felt. Now she just had to keep up that façade and hope for the best. Rose rolled her shoulders back and straightened her spine before turning and making her way out of the room and back down the stairs.

* * *

Scorpius's nerves were beginning to make themselves known by the time that he, Rose, and her parents needed to get ready to depart for Malfoy Manor. The importance of their plan was weighing on him and he felt as if his entire body was starting to compress from the strain. He paced nervously back and forth in the small hallway at the bottom of the stairs in the Burrow, waiting for the Weasley family to emerge so that they could apparate to his parents' house.

At the sound of footfalls on the steps above him, Scorpius turned and stopped short at the vision in front of him. Rose was slowly making her way down the stairs and the sight of her completely took his breath away. She was in a flowing black dress that accentuated her curves and contrasted sharply with her wild red curls. She had pulled the sides of her hair back so that her face was beautifully framed and she had done something to her face to make her lips and eyes stand out even more than usual.

Suddenly, all of the worries that had been swirling through his brain mere moments ago completely vanished. There was nothing but Rose. It took all of his strength not to sprint across the corridor, sweep her into his arms, and kiss away all of the gloss she had painted her lips with. His fingers itched to bury themselves in her riotous curls—to reach down and tug at the bow that sat just above her hipbone until he could peel the dress from her body. He wasn't sure how he would be able to sit through an entire dinner, with both of their parents in the room, while staring across the table at _her._ She was stunning.

"You might want to reel your tongue back in there, Malfoy. You're starting to drool."

"What?" Scorpius asked, forcing his gaze away from Rose to find Teddy Lupin standing beside him.

Teddy laughed. "From everything I've heard about you and Rosie, you two hate each other with a fiery passion. Only problem is, in the few hours I've spent around you, I'm seeing plenty of the fiery passion, but not even the slightest hint of real hate. Care to tell me why that is?"

Scorpius had just opened his mouth to respond, although he wasn't exactly sure what he had been about to say, when Rose appeared beside them. "What's going on over here?" she asked, eyeing Teddy suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing. Just giving our friend Scorpius here a little talking to."

"I think this whole being forced to spend time together thing is enough. He doesn't need to get lectures from all of my family as well—actually related or not."

Teddy smirked. "Oh, it wasn't a lecture. It was a warning. He was being a bit obvious, frankly."

"Obvious?" The fingers of Rose's right hand strayed to the spun glass rose hanging around her neck, nervously plucking at it under her honorary cousin's penetrating gaze.

"Yes, obvious," Teddy repeated, clearly amused. "It really is some act the two of you put on. How long have you kept that up?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose stated calmly, giving him a pointed look.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm intrigued enough not to meddle. Just remember, if I can tell, so can other people. You're just lucky that Molly is so overwhelmed with the army of relatives that have invaded the Burrow she hasn't had the time to take a good look at the two of you." He glanced back and forth between them. "I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I never really experienced your attacking each other that lets me see through you now."

Rose and Scorpius were both struck dumb. They just stared at Teddy as he so casually deconstructed their relationship.

"Just so you know, Scorpius," Teddy continued. "You'd better treat her well. I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if you don't."

Scorpius swallowed hard. "No. I don't think you do."

Teddy nodded, an amused expression settling over his features. "I'll leave you two to finish getting ready. You're leaving for Malfoy Manor soon?"

"Yeah," Rose answered, finally managing to find her voice. "As soon as Mum and Dad come back downstairs."

"Best of luck, then," Teddy smirked. "Nice necklace, by the way. New?" He didn't give Rose a chance to answer before he spun on his heel and walked away.

"Well…" Scorpius breathed. "That was interesting."

Rose's lips quirked up. "That was Teddy."

* * *

Scorpius reached up to tap the big brass knocker on the front door of Malfoy Manor. Despite the fact that it was his home, such formalities were called for when guests were involved. He ignored the curious glances from Rose and her parents and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. When it finally swung open, Astoria Malfoy stood on the other side.

"Welcome to our home," she smiled at them a bit hesitantly. "Please, come in out of the cold."

As Scorpius passed his mother, she leaned up, placing a tender kiss on his cheek. "I have your presents for you. You can open them after dinner," she told her son.

"Thank you, Mother," he answered, returning her kiss with one of his own.

Rose looked over at Ron and Hermione, assessing their reactions to being in the Malfoys' home again. Her father's jaw was set and her mother looked a bit tense but, aside from that, they did not seem to be too negatively affected. She planned on watching them closely for the rest of the night, however. If at all possible, she wanted to keep from traumatizing them any further due to her plan.

"There are drinks and appetizers in the sitting room," Astoria informed them, taking their coats, and Rose's overnight bag, before pointing down the corridor. "Second door on your left. Draco and Narcissa are already waiting for you. I'll just put your things away and join you in a moment."

As Scorpius led the way down the hall, Rose snuck another glance at her parents. She noticed her mother slide a bit closer to her father as they passed a large doorway on the right that had been blocked off by several enormous Christmas trees. Ron wrapped his arm around his wife and his posture stiffened until they were well past the hidden doors. That was obviously the room where Hermione had been tortured. Rose remembered what Scorpius had told her the night before about Draco attempting to make things as easy as possible for her parents. He had clearly closed off any rooms that he thought would trigger unpleasant memories for her parents. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the effort.

The mood in Malfoy Manor was completely different from the festive, raucous feeling that had permeated the holiday celebrations at the Burrow. While the Burrow's atmosphere had been casual and carefree, Christmas with the Malfoys was proving to be a very proper, perfectly arranged affair. The decorations adorning the walls were tasteful and meticulously designed, and everything had its place—including the people.

Precisely one hour after they had entered the sitting room, Astoria announced that dinner would be served in the dining room. Everyone was clearly glad to leave the awkwardness of small talk and attempts at civility that had dominated since the Weasley family's arrival.

When they entered the dining room, Rose couldn't help but gape. The entire room was elegantly draped with evergreen garlands and shimmering accents of silver. The lights from the crystal chandelier hanging above the table reflected off of the decorations, creating the sensation that the whole space was glowing from within.

Astoria gracefully directed them to their seats, placing Rose and Scorpius directly across from one another, between their two families. As she lowered herself to her chair, Rose's gaze flitted up and locked with Scorpius's. The overwhelming tension in the air was beginning to get to them. She couldn't help but think that it would almost be preferable if a fight were to break out. At least then they wouldn't have to sit here wondering when it was going to happen.

Narcissa haughtily took her place to Draco's left, her eyes scanning over the guests with reserved apprehension. She too remembered exactly what had occurred the last time that Ron and Hermione were in this house and did not particularly appreciate being reminded of that time in her life.

The food was delicious, and Rose began to relax a bit at the sight of both of her parents eating. If they were too affected by being in Malfoy Manor again, her mother's appetite would most certainly have disappeared. Her father could continue scarfing down food under any circumstance, but he too seemed much more at ease than she would have expected. They were tense and obviously uncomfortable, but there didn't seem to be any traumatic flashbacks as of yet.

They made it through dinner without anything more than a few disdainful glances or rude mumblings from either Ron or Draco. That is, until the dessert levitated itself into the room and Narcissa spoke up.

"Draco, where is Ridge tonight? Shouldn't he be serving us?" she asked her son.

Draco visibly stiffened. "I gave him the night off. I didn't want any issues to arise for our guests about being served by a house elf," he informed his mother in a hushed voice.

Hermione furrowed her brow while Ron huffed derisively. "Afraid we'll disapprove of your mistreatment of your _servant, _Malfoy?" he sneered.

"No," Draco replied, his voice cold. "I just didn't want you to be uncomfortable. I know how worked up the two of you get over this sort of thing."

"This sort of thing being—"

"Ron, enough," Hermione spoke up. "Let it go."

"I think it's worth discussion, Hermione," Ron countered. "You only hide something when you know you've done wrong."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "The only reason I _hid_ anything, was so as to not add fuel to an already dangerous fire. I've spent enough time around your temper to know it doesn't take much, Weasley."

Ron opened his mouth to respond, but Hermione interrupted. "Ron, take a quick walk with me," she commanded, rising from the table.

"Wha—" Ron began, but was immediately silenced by the stern expression on his wife's face.

Hermione reached down and grabbed onto her husband's hand, pulling him from his seat. She turned to Draco, an uncertain expression on her face. "Draco…would it be all right if I went into the front parlor?"

Ron spun to face her. "Are you out of your _mind_?!"

Hermione merely raised a hand to shush her husband and continued to stare at Draco. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Yes…of course. If that's what you want."

"Thank you," Hermione nodded at him before dragging Ron out of the room, blatantly ignoring his continued protests as she strode decisively towards the door.

As soon as they exited, the mood of the room shifted significantly. A heavy silence settled upon the remaining inhabitants. Rose looked across the table at Scorpius, the concern for her parents evident on her face.

"Well, that was exciting," Narcissa muttered disapprovingly. "Really, Draco. That is not appropriate behavior for the dinner table." She turned to look across the table at Rose, who was seated diagonally from her. "Now what is it I hear about this nonsense between you and my grandson?"

Rose's eyebrows raised. "Nonsense?"

"Yes. Nonsense. Scorpius is a very well-behaved young man. I find it difficult to believe that he would ever act out against someone unless thoroughly provoked. Is there a reason you feel the need to antagonize him?"

"To be honest, I do more than my fair share of antagonizing, Grandmother," Scorpius cut in.

Narcissa waved a hand dismissively. "I believe I was speaking to Rose." She leaned forward, her clear blue eyes focused intently on the redheaded girl in front of her. "I do not take kindly to people who threaten my family, young lady. The fact that you used an extremely dangerous spell on my grandson does not sit well with me."

"Enough, Mother," Draco intervened. "From what McGonagall has told us, Scorpius is just as responsible for the violence of their _incidents._"

"And you really believe that?"

"I know my son," Draco said, dryly, shooting a slightly amused look at Scorpius. "He is perfectly capable of getting himself into this kind of trouble all on his own."

* * *

Hermione took a deep breath before pulling her wand from her pocket and waving the Christmas trees out of the way of the entrance to the front parlor. She stood for a few moments, gathering her courage before shoving open the doors and stepping over the threshold of the room where Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured her. She squeezed her hands into fists at her side to stop them from shaking and immediately felt herself begin to calm when she felt Ron's large fingers wrap around hers.

"I'm all right," she whispered to him.

"I don't know that _I_ am," he responded, bending to place a kiss on her shoulder.

Hermione leaned her head back for a moment, resting her weight against his chest, before she took another bracing breath and stepped away from his comforting warmth. Her eyes scanned the room around her, assessing her own reaction. It was the first time she had seen this room anywhere but in her nightmares since Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus Curse on her.

She had expected this to be much more difficult than it was—expected to be flooded with horrible memories the moment she walked through the door but, somehow, it was just a room. The sense of dread that had been mounting in her ever since McGonagall had announced that they would be spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor had been a thousand time worse than what she was currently experiencing. It wasn't that she would like spending large amounts of time in this room, but neither was she reliving the horrors she had experienced the last time she had been in this very spot.

"I think we need to talk about Scorpius, Ron," she finally spoke.

"What about him?"

Hermione turned at the stress she could hear in her husband's voice, smiling at him in an attempt to reassure him that she was, in fact, all right. "I think it may be time for you to realize that he is not who his father was. We need to end this rivalry between our children."

"I'm not quite convinced of that, frankly."

Hermione sighed. "You know, Ron. Draco wasn't all that evil back then. Was he an arrogant little prick with more malice than brains? Yes. Evil? No." She turned towards the massive carved marble fireplace. "Do you remember what happened when we were here last? When Narcissa asked him to identify Harry?"

"I remember exactly what happened when we were here last, 'Mione," Ron growled.

"He said he couldn't tell if it was Harry, Ron. If he had admitted to recognizing him immediately, Voldemort would have been called and we would have been killed." She faced her husband, her eyes searching his face. "When you think about it, it could have been much worse if he hadn't been there."

"Hmph," Ron snorted with derision. "That was just because he was too much of a coward to be responsible for our deaths."

"Ron, our daughter used a spell that she heard about from you and Harry to attack Scorpius. A very dangerous spell. She could easily have _killed_ him and the fact that you're not upset by that means we have a very big problem. Scorpius is a good kid. Spending the past couple of days around him has shown me that. Are you really so blinded by a past that has nothing to do with him that you can't see it?"

"Okay. You're right. I'm sorry," Ron admitted. "I was wrong to encourage Rose's animosity towards the boy."

Hermione nodded. "Do you think maybe you could express that sentiment to our daughter? It's time for this hatred between them to end."

"Well, they seemed to be getting along much better by the end of the day with my mum. Maybe they'll be able to move past it now."

Hermione's gaze swept around the room once again. The longer she spent in the massive space, the more she realized just how different it looked from the last time she had seen it. She looked at her surroundings, comparing what was actually there to the details that had been forever imprinted on her memory. It wasn't the same. She wasn't the same.

Where there had been nothing but a cold, black stone floor, there were now warm-toned area rugs. The towering windows had been bare, but were now draped with rich fabrics. If she hadn't spent much of her life being haunted by what she had gone through here, Hermione wasn't sure that she would have been able to recognize it at all.

"It was good of Draco to close off these rooms. It shows that he's trying to make us comfortable."

Ron's gaze snapped to hers, his ears red with anger. "That doesn't erase what happened. Or his part in it."

"No. And the things I experienced here will remain with me for the rest of my life." Hermione turned in a circle, surveying the room around her. "Do you see how much he's changed this place?"

"What?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Have you taken a look around, Ron? A really good look?"

"Yeah, so? Looks the same to me."

"Try and separate out the memories from what's actually here. Draco completely redid the entire house. Apparently, he's trying to forget the past too. Maybe we all deserve the chance to move on—to overwrite the old with the new."

Ron said nothing, continuing to take in his surroundings. Now that Hermione had mentioned it, he was beginning to notice all of the differences. "Chandelier's gone."

"A lot of things are. Don't you think it's time to try and stop dwelling on the past? For our kids' sakes, at least?"

"I don't know how well I can let it go, 'Mione."

"That's okay," she assured him, reaching up to press her lips to his. "As long as you're willing to try."

* * *

The rest of the night passed without incident and, much to the surprise of everyone present, Ron was gracious enough to thank Draco and Astoria for their hospitality and what had been "a lovely evening" and shake their hands on his way out the door.

* * *

Scorpius carefully eased his way through his bedroom door and crept down the hallway towards the room where Rose was spending the night. He had attempted to fall asleep in his own bed, but knowing that she was just a few rooms away made that impossible, despite just how tired he was. It had been a very trying holiday. Thank God it was almost over.

He slid into Rose's room and paused, taking in the sight of her. She was lying on her side with her wild scarlet curls tumbling around her face and spreading out across the crisp white sheets. A sliver of light was pouring in through the gap between the curtains, highlighting her silhouette as her ribs rose and fell along with her breaths. His reaction to her would never cease to amaze him. Just one glimpse and he could already feel the desperate longing to be close to her.

He carefully tip-toed across the room to the bed, lifting the covers so that he could join her.

"Scor," Rose whispered as he slid onto the mattress behind her. "As much as I love you, I'm exhausted. It's been a very long couple of days. Plus we didn't get much sleep last night."

"Don't worry. I don't have the energy to do anything but sleep." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his body.

Rose smiled, turning in his embrace so that she could mold her body to his and tuck her head under his chin. Scorpius tilted his head down, pressing his lips to her hair. "So," he whispered. "Our fathers shook hands tonight."

"It's a start," she murmured into his chest.

"It certainly is." Scorpius touched his lips to the top of her head again. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, Scor." Rose quickly drifted off to sleep with Scorpius's arms around her, lulled by the sound of his heart beating steadily beneath her ear.

* * *

The next morning, Rose made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. Scorpius was up in his room dressing for the day and so she would have to manage alone with his parents until he joined them. At the doorway, she hesitated. Draco and Astoria were seated at the table, each with a cup of tea—a plate of eggs and a bowl sliced fruit between them. Draco had the Daily Prophet laid out in front of him and was absentmindedly twirling a lock of his wife's hair between his fingers as he read the paper.

Rose couldn't help but smile. It was the same habit that Scorpius had. His hands were constantly seeking out the ends of her hair. She wondered if Astoria was just as annoyed at the knots, and simultaneously as touched by the fact that Draco couldn't stop playing with her hair, as Rose was when Scorpius did it.

Astoria glanced towards the doorway and Draco quickly followed her gaze. The second that they realized that Rose was there, their postures immediately stiffened and they stopped touching one another.

"Good morning," Rose murmured, feeling slightly guilty for observing them in what was clearly not meant for public eyes.

"Good morning," Draco replied. He folded his paper before turning to his wife. "I should go get ready for the day."

At Astoria's smile, Draco stood, nodding to Rose as he made his way out of the kitchen.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Rose apologized.

Astoria merely waved a hand. "Oh, don't be silly. You came down to get breakfast. There's nothing wrong with that." She gestured to the chair across from her. "Have a seat. Grab a plate."

Rose settled herself at the table with Scorpius's mother, attempting to look as casual as possible. She poured herself a glass of orange juice before carefully spooning some fruit onto her plate.

Astoria began to elegantly stir sugar into her teacup. "So, tell me. How long have you and my son been sleeping together?"

Rose choked on her orange juice, spraying droplets of liquid across the table in front of her. "Excuse me?" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"I know my son. And I'm not blinded by a decades old rivalry, like Draco and your parents are, so I can see the way you look at each other. I saw something between you a few weeks ago in Professor McGonagall's office, but I wasn't completely sure until last night, when I saw the glances you were exchanging at the dinner table. And then, of course, when I saw him slip into your room."

Rose was stunned. "Nothing happened, we were just—" she began, a bit defensively.

Astoria held up a hand to silence her. "It doesn't matter. Although I'm not exactly fond of the idea that my son is old enough to even think about girls, I am well aware of what goes on between seventeen year olds. I used to be one, after all," she said with a slight smile.

Rose swallowed hard, nodding her head.

"Now, I'm assuming that there is a lot more to the story?" Astoria asked. "I'm assuming that Professor McGonagall's plan wasn't so successful that, after spending a single day together, you somehow magically got along to the point that you felt the need to share a bed? A Christmas Miracle, perhaps?"

Rose let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah…no."

"So I'll ask you again. How long have you been sleeping with my son?"

"A few months. Give or take," Rose admitted with a sigh. "We needed our parents to get along before we admitted to it though. Otherwise, it would just be too hard."

Astoria cocked her head. "So you managed to manipulate everyone around you into making that happen?"

Slightly ashamed, Rose nodded.

"Impressive," Astoria murmured.

Rose's eyes shot upwards to focus on Scorpius's mother's face. "Impressive?"

"Yes," the older woman smiled. "Very impressive. Apparently there's a reason that you and Scorpius are at the top of your class."

"So you aren't angry?"

"A little annoyed at being lied to, but no. I'm not angry." She paused, looking Rose up and down with a thoughtful expression. "How much longer were the two of you planning on hiding this?"

"We weren't really sure," Rose admitted. "Until we could count on the fact that our fathers wouldn't feel the need to commit murder when they found out."

The corner of Astoria's lips quirked up. "Yes, I can see how that would be a problem. After last night I think you've certainly made progress, though."

"That's what we're hoping," Rose agreed. She nervously chewed on her lip for a moment before working up the courage to speak. "Are you going to tell your husband?" she asked.

Astoria considered the girl in front of her, assessing her options. "I think I'll let Scorpius be the one to tell him. I've never been one to get in the middle of their relationship. They're both grown men. Just don't wait too long to tell the truth, all right?" Astoria cautioned her.

"All right," Rose agreed.

"Good morning!" At the cheerful greeting, Rose and Astoria both turned to look at Scorpius as he strode through the doorway.

At the intense stares coming from both women, he stopped short, giving them a funny look. "Why do I feel like the two of you are up to something?"

"Oh, don't be silly," Astoria scoffed. "Just girl talk." She stood, shooting Rose a brilliant smile and a sly wink before sweeping out of the room.

Scorpius turned to Rose. "What was that about?"

"Girl talk," she answered, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're mother's really something, you know."

Scorpius grinned. "Oh, I know."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm beginning to see where you get it from."

* * *

**The next chapter is..."So this is the New Year." Hope to see you next time!**


	24. So this is the New Year

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know, another long wait between chapters. I'm sorry! I have good news and bad news (Don't get too scared! It's not that bad, I promise!). The bad news is that I hit some major writer's block on this chapter and the next one looks to be difficult as well, although hopefully not quite as bad as this one was. The good news is that I've had a ton of inspiration for the following two chapters, so a large portion of both of those are already written. That means that the wait times between chapters will be significantly shorter once we get past the next one. Just these four and then the epilogue left. I can't believe how fast this has gone! I'll have to make sure to write plenty of one-shots, because I don't think I'm really ready to let go of this story yet. Rose and Scorpius are just way too much fun!**

**There's some fun Scorose time in this chapter, where they get to relax and let their guard down around other people for a change. I thought they could use the break from all of the sneaking around :) Albus is back (yayyyyy!), along with Ava, Melinda, and Lorcan, so there should be a bit of fun! I couldn't help but write in a little bit of tension between Albus and Ava. I'm starting to get excited about delving into their story so some of that bled into this one. I think that this scene is going to be pretty significant for their relationship. I'm planning on parts of their story to parallel Rose and Scorpius's, so that should be fun :)**

**I hope you enjoy it! As always, thank you so much for reading, and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 23: So this is the New Year**

The clouds of steam billowing from the Hogwarts Express swirled around Platform 9¾, veiling the swarming throng of wizarding families in a translucent white mist. Rose's eyes swept over the crowd as she waited for the rest of her family to emerge from the barrier to the muggle side of King's Cross Station. So far there was no sign of Scorpius's white-blonde head and Rose was more than a little anxious for a glimpse of him. It had only been a week since they had last seen one another but, after the exhausting holiday that they had both had, those days had felt like an eternity.

They had done it. The plan had been executed, things seemed to be on slightly more solid, though still very shaky, ground between their parents, and they were heading out of their very last winter break at Hogwarts—and therefore heading towards their rapidly approaching NEWTs—in an entirely different place than they had been the last time they were standing on this platform. For the first time since she and Scorpius had agreed to implement their plan, Rose felt entirely optimistic that everything would turn out all right.

At the sound of her parents' voices, Rose turned. Ron and Hermione emerged from the seemingly solid brick wall hand in hand, closely followed by Hugo. As Rose fell into step with the rest of her family, she couldn't help but think that her little brother had grown up on her. He was the spitting image of their father and, as a result, had shot up dramatically in height over the past year and now towered over their mother. It was amazing how much of a difference a year could make. Then again, if anything was proof of that, it was her relationship with Scorpius.

As they approached the train, Rose's father grabbed onto her elbow, slowing her pace. She looked up at him in question but he merely continued to hold her back until they had fallen far enough behind so as not to be overheard.

"I need to talk with you for a moment before you leave, Rosie," Ron said, a bit nervously.

"Is everything all right, Dad?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine." Ron took a deep breath. He seemed to be steeling himself for something. "I need to talk with you about Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose's stomach clenched and immediately jumped upwards, seemingly in an attempt to escape through her throat. Was there a possibility that her father could have figured out about her relationship with Scorpius? Had Neville confessed what he knew about them? Had Teddy? Had they slipped up and alerted him to the fact that they were not actually enemies? Unwilling to disclose any information that her very prone to overreacting father may not already have, Rose bit the inside of her lip to keep silent and held her breath while she waited for him to continue speaking.

Ron cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. "You see, Rosie…your mother thinks—and I completely agree, of course...well…we think that you need to make an effort to get along better with Scorpius. Just...try to be a bit...nicer?"

Rose's jaw dropped. She was overcome with a mixture of relief that her father had not found out about them yet and a sense of overwhelming joy that Ron Weasley was actually telling her that she needed to _get along_ with Scorpius. She had to consciously restrain herself from breaking out into a happy dance right there on the platform at the thought of just how well the plan to get through to their parents had worked.

Ron took her astonishment as reluctance to accept the fact that he was no longer subtly encouraging her war against all things Malfoy. "See, Rosie…McGonagall was right. You two are going to end up seriously hurting one another...or the people around you—or yourselves—and I just couldn't handle it if something happened to you because I was too stubborn to tell you to stop. After spending some time with Scorpius, I can see that he…well, he isn't quite what his father was all those years ago. I think you need to put this whole rivalry behind you. Focus on your studies. Maybe try a little peace between the two of you. Call a truce. I think you might find that…maybe you'll be happier for it."

Rose had somehow managed to close her mouth during her father's little speech. She swallowed, attempting to gather her wits enough to reply. Although this exact outcome had always been her and Scorpius's goal, Rose had never really taken the time to think about how she would react were she to be faced with a father who was telling her to end her feud with Draco Malfoy's son. "I…okay," she nodded. "I'll try and get along better with Scorpius."

Ron sighed, the tension in his shoulders immediately beginning to drain away. "Okay. Good." Smiling at his daughter, he slung an arm around her shoulders. "Then let's get you on that train."

* * *

Scorpius caught a glimpse of several bright red heads of hair out of the corner of his eye as he pulled his trunk onto the Hogwarts Express behind him. His head automatically swiveled to seek out Rose among the group of Weasley/Potters and he had to suppress a grin at the sight of her. He had missed her. Now all he had to do was figure out a reason to get closer to her.

Luckily, he spotted Alex Cook and a couple of his other friends at the other end of the car. As unobtrusively as he could, he made his way down the corridor, past several train compartments, and towards her. He reached out and briefly clasped her fingers in his own as he squeezed through, causing Rose's eyes to snap up and lock onto his. Her mouth twitched as their gazes caught and held and he couldn't help the clutch in his abdomen at the triumphant look in her eyes. Her bright blue irises flashed in excitement and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. Something good had happened to put that expression on her face.

With one last meaningful glance, Scorpius turned and continued down the train car towards the compartment where Alex and a few of the less repulsive members of Slytherin were waiting for him. Rose watched him walk away for a moment, before tearing her gaze from the sight of his retreating form and slipping in to join her cousins in their compartment. She couldn't contain the emotions that were currently racing through her system and, at Albus's questioning look, she broke out into an enormous grin. Everything was going right and, if their luck continued to hold, she and Scorpius wouldn't have to sneak around much longer.

* * *

On the first Friday night after winter holidays had ended, Rose and Scorpius found themselves in the Room of Requirement, but in a situation that was entirely different from what they were used to. They were seated comfortably on one of several plush couches, leaning into one another but, unlike every other time that they had been in this particular room, they were definitely not alone. Albus and Ava had snuck into Hogsmeade—with the help of the ever-useful Marauder's Map—to retrieve a large supply of butterbeers and firewhiskey, which they were currently enjoying along with Rose, Scorpius, Melinda, and Lorcan.

The small group had come to terms with the fact that Rose and Scorpius were no longer enemies and, as such, the pair were enjoying a taste of what their lives could be like after they were able to come clean about their relationship. They were all draped over the couches in the 'sitting room' area of the Room of Requirement, happily playing drinking games as they adapted to the new dynamic.

Albus poured another round of firewhiskey shots for everyone, passing the glasses around until they each held one. "Okay, my turn!" Holding up his glass, Albus laughed. "Never have I ever…lied to my parents!"

"Oh, come on!" Lorcan protested. "Everyone's done that."

"Then everyone should drink!" Albus crowed happily, slightly buzzed. Rolling their eyes, everyone downed the shot in their hands before passing the bottle around to refill their glasses. "Ava, you're up!"

"Okay," Ava smiled. "Never have I ever…paid someone else to do my homework."

"Does it have to be with money?" Melinda asked.

Ava shook her head in response. "Barter system counts too."

Ava, Rose, and Scorpius were the only ones who did not drink.

"Seriously, Albus?" Rose groaned. "And Melinda! I'm shocked. Who did you pay to do your work?"

Melinda shrugged, a sly grin on her face. "Never you mind."

"My turn!" Lorcan spoke up, his face an inexplicably bright shade of red. Rose frowned in confusion at the loaded look that passed between him and Melinda before he continued speaking. "Never have I ever…" his gaze narrowed slightly when it passed over Scorpius. "Never have I ever hit a girl."

Scorpius tensed briefly, glancing down at Rose. She shook her head. "You're good. You've never hit me." She grinned, downing her own shot. "I, on the other hand, have gotten into multiple fights with my female cousins."

"He's never…?" Lorcan trailed off.

"Nope," Rose answered firmly. "At least not on purpose. Right, Scor?"

Scorpius smiled, kissing her temple. "My dad would have my head on a platter if I had ever hit a girl, no matter who she was. Now if hexes counted…I might be in trouble." He laughed and attempted to avoid the hand that Rose shot out to swat his chest.

"Good to know," Lorcan told them, relaxing back against the couch cushions.

"You're up, Melinda," Albus urged.

"Never have I ever…shagged someone in a broom closet."

After a quick and slightly ashamed glance around the room, every single person drank. Albus was looking towards Rose and Scorpius as Melinda spoke and grimaced at the heated look they sent one another as they threw back their shots of firewhiskey. "Oh I did not need to know that," he groaned. His gaze slid to Ava, who had also swallowed the contents of her glass, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Ava?!" Albus shouted. "Who did you…I mean, when did…But—I'm going to kill him."

"Oh, come on, Albus. Don't you think you're being a tad bit hypocritical?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her best friend in challenge. "When did I give you permission to monitor my love life? Last time I checked, I was just as free to date around as you are."

"But…I…" Albus stuttered.

"Next!" Ava called out, turning away from a very red-faced Albus. He continued spluttering, attempting to get her to divulge the name of the boy who had taken advantage of her in a broom closet.

Rose glanced over at Scorpius, a smirk on her face. When he raised his hand, running it down her back to settle at the base of her spine, the smirk grew to a full smile. She scooted closer to him on the couch, settling into the crook of his arm and resting her head against his chest.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to her hair. "This is nice," he whispered.

"Yeah," she answered, looking up into his eyes. "I like not having to pretend."

"No staged fights. No ignoring one another's existence. We can just be ourselves."

Rose pushed herself up so that she could catch his mouth with hers. It was such a relief to be able to act naturally—not worrying who would see them or how long they had until they would be missed. Sitting here, in the Room of Requirement, surrounded by friends that they knew they could trust with their secret, they felt safe. No one here would judge them if they touched, or cuddled up against one another, or laughed at each other's jokes.

"Rose, would you please take your turn," Ava's exasperated voice intruded on their more intimate conversation. Rose looked up in time to see Ava and Albus glaring at one another.

"Umm…let's see…never have I ever…" she looked her cousin over thoughtfully. "Never have I ever been on a date with one person and wished that they were someone else."

Albus's gaze snapped to hers. "I think I've had enough of this game."

Rose shrugged. "Fine by me. After this one, we can stop playing." With a sideways glance at Scorpius, she tilted her head back and swallowed her firewhiskey. After her ill-fated afternoon with Grant in Hogsmeade, she was definitely guilty of that one.

Albus threw back his shot, his face no longer quite as cheerful as it had been when they had started the game. "So…Rose," he said, a bit too loudly. "When are you two planning on telling your parents about your relationship? For that matter, when are you planning on telling everyone else?"

"As far as out parents are concerned, I think we'll let things settle for a bit longer just to be safe," Scorpius told him. "As for everyone else…"

Rose grinned. "We should come up with something fun. I really want to see everyone's reactions."

Scorpius met her mischievous gaze with one of his own. "I say we just randomly kiss. Purely because of the sheer fun factor of seeing the shock on everyone's faces."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rose laughed.

"You should do it in the Great Hall at dinner or something," Melinda joined in. "Can you imagine the uproar that would cause?"

Albus perked up a bit at the idea. "That would be hysterical. I mean, McGonagall's reaction alone…" he grinned wickedly. "Priceless!"

* * *

The next morning, Rose and Scorpius headed down to the trophy room for their weekly detention. McGonagall had sent them both a note on the first day of term to let them know that they would be meeting with her about their progress in two weeks. Until then, they were still on probation, which meant that they had to spend every Saturday doing whatever menial work their professors could dream up. Apparently, this week would be the tried and true classic—polishing the multitude of awards that had been accumulated by generations of Hogwarts students.

As Rose started in on yet another Quidditch trophy, she turned to Scorpius. "So…how long do you think it will take for Albus and Ava to realize that they're more than friends?" she asked. "I mean, did you _see_ them last night? I haven't been around that level of sexual tension since we first started up."

Scorpius set the plaque he had been scrubbing back on the shelf before glancing over at Rose with a smirk. "Merlin, do I remember _that._ And yeah...their body language was definitely interesting to watch. At one point, he had his arm around her waist and was whispering something into her ear. If I hadn't known that they were just friends..."

"And she was laughing," Rose nodded. "Yeah, I saw. How long do you think it'll take for _them_ to see it?"

Scorpius shrugged. "If it takes them anywhere near as long as it took us to realize that we're not enemies…could be quite a while."

"Fair enough," Rose laughed. "You know…sometimes I'm surprised it took us as long as it did. It's scary sometimes, how well-matched our personalities are."

"I know what you mean." Scorpius smiled at her before crossing the room and running his hands down her arms.

Rose pushed up onto her toes, bracing her hands on his shoulders so that she could cover his lips with her own. "Well, we know now."

* * *

**In case anyone's wondering...the title for this chapter came from a Death Cab for Cutie song. The lyrics don't really have much to do with Rose and Scorpius, but it's one of my favorite songs and the title worked nicely here, so I couldn't resist! **

**The next chapter is..."Quaffles, and Snitches, and Bludgers, Oh My!" Now I have to go back and re-read a few Quidditch matches so that I can figure out how to write one. Wish me luck! Hope to see you next time :)**


	25. Quaffles, & Snitches, & Bludgers, Oh My!

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter :) I had a ridiculously busy weekend, so I wasn't sure that I would get this chapter done before Thursday, but then I sat down to write it and kind of got on a roll, so here it is! I worked pretty hard on the Quidditch match in this one, so hopefully I pulled it off. **

**Only two more chapters and then the Epilogue. It's so crazy! We're wrapping things up, but there's still one more big dramatic event to get through...and then, of course the parents have to find out. Also, since we're nearing the end, it would be great if you guys could start thinking about some moments in Rose and Scorpius's life that you might like to read about. I'd love to hear ideas that might spark my imagination for one-shots! I already have three started, so don't worry that there won't be any more Scorose goodness from me :) Once this story is finished, I'd be happy to take requests, so long as I am inspired enough to come up with something for the topic mentioned.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Quaffles, and Snitches, and Bludgers, Oh My!**

Rose and Scorpius eased themselves into the chairs across from Professor McGonagall's desk, their expressions wary. They shot a nervous, and very brief, glance in one another's direction before turning their attention to the headmistress.

"You should know," McGonagall began, "I have been keeping a very close eye on the two of you since your _incident_ in December. I have spoken to your teachers, your classmates, and, of course, your families to determine whether or not you have sufficiently fulfilled the agreement that we made before you left for winter holidays." She peered at Rose and Scorpius over her half-moon spectacles. "I have to say…I am very pleased with your progress."

Both students slumped in relief.

"I have listened to how you conducted yourselves over the holidays and I am impressed with how you have been behaving in the three weeks since you have been back at Hogwarts. However, before I make a decision about your probationary status, I would like to hear from the two of you. Has the way that you view one another changed since last term?" McGonagall looked at Rose and Scorpius expectantly.

They exchanged glances before Rose spoke up, careful to word her thoughts in a way that McGonagall would approve of. "I think so, Professor. I mean…I think I'm beginning to understand that this whole rivalry started for petty reasons and then somehow escalated to the point that we were both out of control. I had a talk with my father and he made it clear that his problems with Scorpius's father should not have been passed down to us, so it has definitely made me rethink some of the animosity between us."

McGonagall nodded, thoughtfully. "And you, Scorpius?"

"I agree with that," he answered, attempting to sound contrite. "And I also think that we may have been using each other to work out some of our problems and aggravations. The rivalry was a convenient excuse to attack someone whenever we were feeling particularly frustrated or angry."

"And so do you think that you will be able to continue coexisting peacefully?" McGonagall asked.

When both students answered in the affirmative, she smiled. "That is a very good thing to hear. And I am very satisfied with the reports that I have been receiving from various sources in regards to your improved behavior. As a reward, I am going to suspend your probation and reinstate your Quidditch privileges."

Rose and Scorpius both sat up straight at this, their expressions full of disbelief. "Really? We can play Quidditch again?" Scorpius exclaimed.

McGonagall's lips curved just slightly at the cautious joy on her students' faces. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I am going to allow you and Ms. Weasley to play Quidditch. And I believe that this reinstatement comes at just the right time. It seems that the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor will be on this coming Saturday."

"So you're going to let us play _against_ each other?" Rose asked.

"Yes. I feel that it will be the perfect opportunity to test just how committed the two of you are to ending the animosity between you. What better place to demonstrate that you have truly committed to ending your hatred of one another than a Quidditch match?"

Rose and Scorpius were both slightly dumbfounded. "Thank you, Professor," Scorpius murmured.

"Yes, thank you," Rose echoed.

McGonagall raised a finger in the air. "Let me be perfectly clear. I expect this improvement in your actions towards one another to continue. Any sign that you are beginning to revert to your old ways and I will not hesitate to, once again, place you under probation. Or expel you, depending on the severity of the relapse. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Professor," they answered in unison.

"Then you are dismissed. I'll let your captains know that you are cleared to play on Saturday."

Rose and Scorpius jumped out of their chairs, again thanking the headmistress profusely, before heading out of her office and down the spiral staircase.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Rose turned to Scorpius. "We get to play Quidditch!"

Scorpius grinned. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin. You're going down, Allamanda."

"Oh, I don't think so, Malfoy," Rose countered, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You wanna bet?" he smirked, wickedly.

"Absolutely. There's no way that Slytherin's beating Gryffindor."

"Are you willing to put your body where your mouth is?" Scorpius growled suggestively.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Scorpius's voice was low, and more than a little dangerous as he slowly made his way closer to her, forcing her towards the wall. "It means…that whoever wins gets to call the shots for the rest of the night." He took yet another step forward, causing Rose's back to hit the solid stone behind her. "It means…when I win, you're _mine_ until the sun comes up." Caging her in with his arms, Scorpius lowered his head until his lips hovered a hair's width from hers. "It means, _Ixora_…that when I win, I can do whatever I want to you until you completely forget everything but _my name_."

Rose's heart rate had sped up considerably and her breath hitched at his words. "And if _I_ win?"

"Won't happen," Scorpius asserted, brushing the tip of his nose over hers.

"But if it does, the same rule applies," Rose whispered, rolling her body into his. "I win…and you're mine. Deal?"

His cocky grin would have pissed her off if she wasn't so aroused. "Deal."

* * *

On Saturday morning, Rose found herself eagerly anticipating the match against Slytherin. She was crowded into the Gryffindor tent with the rest of the team and there was an atmosphere of excitement that just couldn't be found anywhere but right before a Quidditch match. Especially when it was a match between the two biggest rivals in the school—Slytherin and Gryffindor, of course—although the fact that Rose and Scorpius would both be playing was causing quite a bit of anticipation as well. And apparently, Rose and Scorpius were not the only ones who had thought that wagering on the outcome of the match—and the likelihood that the two opposing Beaters would kill each other at some point—would be a good idea. There were currently an unprecedented number of bets being placed among the student body and, although they would deny it, among the staff as well.

Rose finished lacing up her gloves and picked up her bat, twirling it around to loosen up her wrists. She couldn't help but smile as her gaze swept over the rest of the tent's occupants. Liam O'Connor, a fourth year, was doing his own exercises with his Beater's bat, a look of concentration on his face. Ronan Thompson, one of the Chasers, was sitting in a corner, his eyes closed, clearly visualizing various plays in his head. Nathaniel Wood, who had followed in his father's footsteps to become the Gryffindor Keeper, was nervously jiggling his leg as he worked on stretching out the muscles in his upper body. Albus, Roxie, and Lily were joking with one another in somewhat hushed tones as they too warmed up for the game ahead. Albus and Roxie were both Chasers, while Lily was also fulfilling her father's legacy—or rather, the _Potter_ legacy—as Seeker.

James had been the Seeker the previous year and Fred had been a Beater. In fact, most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been made up of Weasley/Potter family members for the last several years. Albus had been the captain for the past two years because, although James and Fred had been seventh years and, therefore, outranked him, their constant pranks and mischief-making (honestly, they rivaled the Weasley twins in creativity and sheer nerve) made them poor candidates for positions of authority. That wasn't to say that Albus didn't pull his fair share of stunts, he just managed to avoid getting caught. This tendency for misbehaving was the same reason that most of the Weasley/Potter clan did not tend to get named as Prefects or Head Boy and Girl. Molly (Percy's daughter) and Dominique (Bill and Fleur's daughter) were the sole exceptions to the trouble-making streak that seemed to run through the rest of the bunch like a genetic marker. Even the less adventurous members of the clan—like Lily, Lucy, Roxie, and Hugo for instance—were swept along in the roguish tide by their numerous siblings and cousins.

"Okay, listen up!" Albus called out, getting the team's attention. "We've got Rosie back for today's match, so that'll definitely be an asset, but be sure to remember that that means Malfoy will be playing for Slytherin as well and, since McGonagall has made it very clear that they are to _behave themselves,"_ he shot a meaningful look in Rose's direction, "Scorpius will be at the top of his game as well. Do not forget that. Their usual antics on the Quidditch pitch make it very easy to underestimate just how good at their positions they are, so be aware."

At the team's nods of agreement, Albus continued. "Now the Slytherins are a bigger team than we are, I don't think there can be any doubt of that, so we're going to have to use their size and sheer brute strength to our advantage. That means that Lily, Ronan, and I are going to have to fly fast, and fly stealthy. Quick turns, sharp dives and ascents, and bursts of speed at every opportunity. We have to outmaneuver them. Rose and Liam, we're going to count on you to have our backs out there." Albus turned to his cousin. "_Please _be sure not to get distracted, Rosie. With the pace that we're going to have to keep up during the match, we need to be confident that a rogue Bludger isn't going to come flying out of nowhere and knock us off our brooms. Got it?"

Rose nodded. "Don't worry. I know what I have to do out there. I'll be focused."

"Good," Albus smiled at her. "Nate, when the Quaffle comes at you, it's going to be hard and fast, so do everything in your power to anticipate their moves before they have a chance to take their shot. With the strength of some of those gorillas, they could easily snap your hands off at the wrists so try and get in _front_ of Quaffle if at all possible. And Lily, my lovely sister...last but not least," Albus turned with a grin to the small redhead. "Catch the damn Snitch before they do."

"Great advice, Albus. You really should write motivational literature," Lily retorted.

"I'm a man of many talents," Albus shot back. "Now let's get out there and kick some Slytherin arse!" At the cheer from his teammates, he turned and led the way out of the tent and towards the Quidditch pitch.

As they entered the enclosure of the stands, Albus used the roar of the crowd as cover and slipped back so that he was walking beside Rose. "Are you really going to be focused going up against Scorpius?" he hissed into her ear. "You're sure you're ready for this?"

Rose pulled her head back to lock eyes with her cousin, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Game on."

* * *

"It's a crisp January morning here on the Hogwart's Quidditch pitch, and I'd like to welcome you all to what promises to be a hot-blooded battle between Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses," the resonating voice of Pip Silverston, a comfortably rotund, sixth year Hufflepuff with a deceptively diminutive name called out over the screaming spectators. "As I am sure everyone knows," he continued, "Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy have been granted permission to play in today's match, after having all Quidditch privileges suspended by Professor McGonagall when they tried to kill each other in one of their more epic fights this past December. It will be interesting to see how well they interact on the pitch today, now that the headmistress has been very clear about their actions towards one another. Needless to say, nothing can ever be boring when those two are anywhere near each other."

Pip craned his neck, watching as both the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams made their way to the center of the field. "Albus Potter, stepping forward to shake hands with Slytherin captain Morris Crutchley—looks like a bit of an intense staring match going on down there. Madam Hooch gestures them apart…" The shrill sound of a whistle cut through the air and fifteen brooms took flight. "And they're off!

"And Slytherin has possession! Rufus Horton with the Quaffle…he's speeding down the pitch towards the Gryffindor goal posts. Passes to Myer—Myer to Quimbly—Quimbly to—and a Bludger from O'Connor knocks the Quaffle from his hands!

"Roxanne Weasley snatches it up, and Gryffindor is in control! Weasley to Potter—Albus Potter flying down the pitch—it really is amazing just how fast he can fly—and he passes to Thompson. Thompson just manages to dodge a well-aimed Bludger from Malfoy—he swerves to the left—and a beautiful pass to Potter! Potter weaves through the Slytherin Chasers—he's heading towards the goal! He shoots—and he scores! Albus Potter lobs the Quaffle right over Slytherin Keeper Lars Volton's head! And just like that, it's ten points to Gryffindor!"

Rose whooped along with the cheering crowd, a broad smile on her face. She couldn't help shooting a glance in Scorpius's direction. The heated look he sent her momentarily drew her focus from the game, but she quickly pulled herself together and dove back into the fray. She couldn't afford to be distracted by the very vivid images of just what the two of them had planned for that evening.

"Myer has the Quaffle—he passes to Horton—and it's snatched away by Weasley! Roxie Weasley somehow manages to dive in from above and steal the Quaffle right out of the air! She's streaking down the field and—ouch! That had to hurt! Crutchley sends a Bludger right at Weasley, striking her in the back. And now Quimbly has the Quaffle. Well, that's a bit of a tongue-twister, isn't it? _Quimbly is quite quick with the Quaffle_—" Pip laughed before a strict glance from the headmistress caused him to get back on track.

"Sorry, Professor," he mumbled. "Quimbly passes to Horton—Horton shoots—and a fabulous save by Nathaniel Wood! He threw his body in front of that one, preventing the Slytherins from tying the game. And now Thompson has the Quaffle—Thompson to Weasley—Weasley back to Thompson—he shoots—saved by Volton!

"And let's check in with our Seekers, shall we? Lily Potter and Cornelius Munt are both still hovering above the pitch. Clearly, neither one has managed to catch sight of the Snitch yet.

"Back in the action, Myer has the Quaffle—he passes to Horton—"

Rose saw a Bludger veering in her direction and accelerated towards it, swinging her bat with all of her might and sending the black sphere hurtling towards Horton. It grazed his shoulder, throwing him off balance enough that his shot flew wide of the goal posts.

Her momentum carried her close to Scorpius and when she turned her head, he shot her an enormous grin. She couldn't help but return the expression. It felt absolutely incredible to be flying again. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed playing Quidditch.

The game picked up in speed, the Quaffle being passed back and forth between the two teams with such frequency that Pip could barely keep up his commentary. Rose was beginning to work up a sweat, despite the freezing January temperatures. She darted across the field, firing Bludgers at various Slytherins, deflecting their trajectories away from her own teammates, and trying to do everything in her power to keep Gryffindor in the lead.

"And a Bludger from Scorpius Malfoy knocks the Quaffle into the hands of Rufus Horton! Nice shot from Malfoy there. I have to say that whatever Professor McGonagall did to discipline Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy seems to have worked miracles. I don't think I've ever seen a Quidditch match where the two of them were both playing that didn't have half of the focus on their antics. With Rose and Scorpius actually focusing on the game, rather than merely slinging Bludgers back and forth at one another, the match has certainly become more exciting!

"And now Quimbly is making a run on the Gryffindor goal posts! Wood dives—but he can't quite get there in time! Slytherin scores and the game is tied!"

The intensity of the match continued to escalate as Slytherin and Gryffindor began trading goals. No sooner had one team managed to battle their way across the field to score, than the other took up the challenge and evened the tally once again. They were nearly three hours into the game, and everyone was beginning to show signs of fatigue. While Albus's strategy of outmaneuvering the larger Slytherin players was definitely working, it was starting to take a toll on the members of his team. Fortunately, Gryffindor was not the only team to be tiring. And still, there was no sign of the Snitch.

Finally, Rose spotted two streaks of color out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see both Seekers plummeting towards the ground after a tiny speck of gold.

"And the Snitch has been spotted!" Pip called out excitedly. "Cornelius Munt and Lily Potter go into a steep dive, with Munt just slightly in the lead. Whoever catches the Snitch first wins the match! And it looks like Munt is pulling further ahead!"

_No, no, no!_ Rose thought, watching the green and crimson blurs racing towards the ground. Slytherin could not win! There was no way that Scorpius would ever let her live that down. And, although the images that he had conjured in regards to exactly what would happen were he to win their bet were enticing, she refused to let her pride suffer the enormous blow that would result if she lost.

As she frantically searched the skies above the Quidditch pitch for a solution, Rose's gaze landed on a Bludger. She narrowed her eyes in determination before putting on a burst of speed and hurtling herself towards it. She aimed as quickly as possible and, using all of her forward momentum from her frantic flight, smashed her bat into the Bludger. It sped off towards the diving Seekers, and Rose crossed her fingers, praying for luck. Just as Munt reached his hand out for the Snitch, his fingers mere inches away from the fluttering golden ball, the Bludger crashed into the tail of his broom, sending him careening off through the air. Lily managed to swerve around the Slytherin Seeker, powering towards the Snitch, and snatching it out of the air.

The stands erupted. Slytherin supporters were cursing and moaning and stamping their feet in protest while the Gryffindor fans jumped up and down, screaming in excitement.

"_Gryffindor wins_!" Pip shouted out, his voice nearly drowned by the volume of those around him. "_Gryffindor wins_! A superb move by Rose Weasley! Gryffindor wins, 230-80!"

Rose was swarmed by her team. They all shouted and hugged her, completely beside themselves. She managed to look over Roxie's shoulder to see Scorpius, a wry smirk on his face. He shook his head at her and she didn't even try to suppress the mischievous grin that split her features.

* * *

Rose lagged behind the rest of the team as they changed out of their Quidditch robes. She wanted a minute alone with Scorpius, which meant ensuring that she was the last one to leave the tent and head back up to the castle. "I'll see you inside!" she called to her teammates as they gathered their things.

"We can wait for you, Rosie," Lily objected.

"No, that's okay. I kind of want a minute alone. You know…to savor this," she quickly fibbed. "I didn't think that I'd ever get to play Quidditch at Hogwarts again."

Lily smiled in understanding before ushering the rest of the team out in front of her.

"Great to have you back, Rose!" Liam called over his shoulder.

"Thanks!" Rose waited until she was sure that they were far enough away before quickly changing, grabbing her broom and robes, and making her way towards the Slytherin tent. She stood quietly, out of sight, until the Slytherin team pushed through the tent's opening, still grumbling about their loss. When Scorpius emerged, Rose peeked around the fabric and caught his attention.

Scorpius slowed his pace, allowing the rest of his team to outstrip him before he silently stole back into the tent behind Rose.

"So…good game," he muttered.

"Oh, come on, Scor. What's the matter?" Rose couldn't resist taunting him a little. "Scared of what I might make you do?"

Scorpius's gaze snapped to hers and the blazing heat in his eyes took her breath away. "Are you sure I'm the one who should be scared, Sunflower?" He stepped closer, his hands reaching out to grab ahold of Rose's hips. "What do you say we get started a little early?" he growled in her ear as he pulled her body flush to his.

She couldn't control the gasp at the sudden contact. "I'm expected to attend the celebratory party in Gryffindor Tower. But after that…"

Scorpius groaned, clearly unhappy for the delay. "Midnight? The Room of Requirement?"

"Sounds like a plan," Rose whispered, levering herself up so that she could crush her mouth to his. "I'll see you then. Just remember who's in charge. I won, fair and square." Tearing herself away from him, Rose slipped outside and took off towards the castle.

She was still running on the adrenaline from the game, as well as her all too brief encounter with Scorpius in the Slytherin tent, when she began to make her way up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. Today had been a very good day and, after she snuck away from the party, it promised to be an even better night.

Lost in her thoughts, Rose didn't notice the hulking figure in the shadows of the fourth floor landing. Suddenly, something crashed into her side, throwing her off balance. She could have sworn she heard a mumbled, "_Stupid mudblood bitch_," before another shove sent her hurtling headfirst down the stairs and the entire world went black.

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffhanger! But I write so few of those that you have to forgive me, right? :P The next chapter is..."The Moment of Truth." I'm really excited about this chapter. It probably has my favorite Scorose scene to write in it. I've been anticipating this scene like crazy - so much so that I've had a good portion of it written since around Chapter 2 or 3. It's actually one of the things that finally convinced me to write this story. That means that the chapter will probably be posted in a couple of days, since I already have about half of it written. And I have to say...I am really excited to write bad ass Scorpius!**

**And special thanks to AshBronze17824 for the flower names (Ixora and Allamanda) that I used in this chapter!**

**Hope to see you next time!**


	26. The Moment of Truth

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter! I told you I'd update quickly :) I just couldn't leave you in suspense for too long. I'm not _that_ mean. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but there's a lot of stuff that happens in it, so hopefully that will make up for the length. The next chapter will probably be a long one.**

**As I said in my last chapter, my favorite Rose/Scorpius moment that I've written is in this chapter, so I really hope you like it as well. It's basically what I used to formulate who these characters were in my head from the beginning (in conjunction with the idea of the plan, of course), so fingers crossed that it lives up to expectations. And Scorpius gets to kick some ass! That was a lot of fun to write. He's just so yummy :P**

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 25: The Moment of Truth**

The raucous sounds of celebrating Gryffindors only served to make Augustus Goyle more and more furious. That stupid _bitch _Rose Weasley had ruined Slytherin's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup. It was all her fault. First, she provoked him by being in the dungeons,right outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room, forcing him to teach her a lesson. He still didn't know which of her cowardly relatives had attacked him from behind, but if he ever found out, they were as good as dead. One moment he had been about to get his fill of that blood traitor slut and the next, he had woken up in a broom closet, completely immobilized, his head throbbing thanks to a very large bump on the back of his skull.

And then she had ratted on him, her stupid family had held him captive and tortured him, and McGonagall had banned him from ever playing Quidditch again. If he had been playing Keeper in the match against Gryffindor, nowhere near as many goals would have gotten past him. Volton was definitely not even close to being the level of Keeper that Goyle was. And then the _stupid little mudblood_ had knocked Munt out of the way with a Bludger, just as he was about to grab the Snitch and win the match for Slytherin. It was _all her fault._

Goyle and Francis Zabini were slouched against the wall by the stairs to the dungeon, along with a few other Slytherins, bitterly complaining about the unfairness of the Quidditch match. When the Gryffindor team entered the castle, laughing and celebrating like idiots, it was all Goyle could do not to raise his wand and curse them all. Especially Rose Weasley and her filthy little cousins. It would serve them right.

But Rose wasn't with them. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Where was she? Hadn't she come back from the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the Gryffindors? Tapping Zabini on the shoulder, Goyle stood and jerked his head to the side, indicating that his friend should follow him.

Zabini frowned, his thick black brows drawing together over nearly black eyes, before he too rose and trailed along behind Goyle. The pair followed the Gryffindors, who had now been joined by a few more Weasleys, up the stairs, listening in to their conversation. When Rose's name was finally mentioned, Goyle perked up, tuning in with renewed interest as Lily told Hugo that she should be right behind them.

Smirking evilly, Goyle grabbed onto Zabini's elbow, hauling him into the shadows of the fourth floor landing.

"What are we doing, Gus?" Zabini asked, his usually blank expression obviously puzzled.

"Giving a weasel what's coming to her," Goyle replied. Zabini's lips quirked up as he began to figure out Goyle's intent. Time for a little payback. Suppressing a violent chuckle, they melted into the darkened corner to wait.

Finally, the wild red curls that could only belong to Rose Weasley appeared at the bottom of the flight of stairs. Goyle and Zabini kept silent as she ascended, clearly lost in her own little world. This would be almost too easy.

When Rose reached the top step, Goyle couldn't contain himself any longer. Leaping forwards as fast as his large frame would allow, he slammed his body into Rose's, growling, "_Stupid mudblood bitch_," before shoving her with all of his might and sending her tumbling headfirst down the unforgiving stone steps.

* * *

Scorpius was sitting in the corner of the Slytherin common room, a book open on his lap, as he endeavored to occupy himself until it was time to go meet Rose. He knew he was being more than a little pathetic, but the loss that afternoon, coupled with the anticipation of exactly what would be waiting for him in the Room of Requirement at midnight, made it very difficult for him to motivate himself to do anything. And so, he was attempting to read, while simultaneously commiserating with his fellow Slytherins about the disheartening defeat their team had suffered at the hands of the Gryffindors. And, of course, he was also trying to keep the very explicit images of Rose that were floating through his imagination at bay, at least for a few more hours.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance to the common room. A moment later, Goyle and Zabini emerged, surrounded by several of Scorpius's least favorite Slytherins. The entire group was laughing and appeared to be celebrating, as if they had _not_ just lost a Quidditch match to the much hated Gryffindors. Wary of anything that could put those chilling looks of glee on those particular faces, Scorpius abandoned his attempts to focus on his book and, instead, gave all of his attention to the gathering crowd.

"Man, I wish I could have seen that!" Cornelius Munt shouted in excitement. "Where were you?"

"Fourth floor landing on the way up to Gryffindor Tower. The bitch went flying," Goyle bragged, puffing his chest up with pride. "She didn't even see it coming."

Zabini joined in. "You should have seen how hard she hit the ground!"

"Tumbled down that flight of stairs like a fucking rag doll," Goyle chortled. "I wouldn't be surprised if she broke her neck."

The more they talked, the more Scorpius's stomach began to twist itself up in dread. He pushed himself to his feet and took a few steps over to where Goyle and his admirers were crowing with twisted delight.

"Serves her right after that stunt she pulled in the Quidditch match today. I would have caught the Snitch if it wasn't for her," Munt glowered.

Scorpius froze. Suddenly, the entire world seemed to crash down around him, knocking the air right out of his lungs. Rose. They were talking about Rose.

"And the way her body looked, lying all tangled at the bottom of the stairs," Goyle laughed, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Never gonna forget that one, let me tell you."

Zabini looked up to see Scorpius and sniggered. "Wait 'til you hear this, Malfoy."

Scorpius's eyes narrowed into slits, his irises darkening to cold steel as the violence rose up to swirl through them.

Goyle turned, an evil grin painted across his burly countenance. "Oi, Malfoy! It was great. We took down that Weasley bitch. You're always fighting with her—at least before McGonagall got all prissy about it. Wish you could have—"

He didn't get the chance to finish. Before Goyle could react, Scorpius had propelled himself through the air, launching his body into Goyle's hulking form and tackling him to the floor. He threw all of his weight behind the fist that slammed into the larger Slytherin's face, relishing the satisfying crunch as his knuckles struck bone.

Scorpius knew that he had to get to Rose as soon as possible. He didn't know how long it had been since Goyle had hurt her, but he needed to see if she was all right. He needed to know if she was still even _alive_. But, no—he couldn't think about that now. Not yet. First, he had to take care of the son of a bitch who had made the mistake of going after someone he loved.

In the back of his mind, as he pulled back his fist to strike again, it registered that he was glad that he got to take Goyle out face to face this time—when Scorpius had hit him with the full-body-bind after the first time Goyle had attacked Rose, the bastard had never seen exactly who it was who had prevented him from forcing himself on her. Scorpius had sent the curse at him from behind, and Goyle had been knocked unconscious when his skull had hit the hard stone floor. Now, however, Scorpius got the satisfaction of seeing Goyle's expression when his fist connected with his face.

Scorpius twisted one hand in the front of Goyle's robes and planted his knee firmly on Goyle's stomach to hold him down while the other hand pounded into the side of his face, crashing his head repeatedly and relentlessly into the common room floor. When the other boys that were still gathered around them had recovered from the shock of Scorpius's actions enough to try to intervene, Zabini stepped forward in an attempt to pull the furious blonde off of his friend. Scorpius merely jabbed his elbow upwards, crushing into Zabini's jaw, then his nose, causing him to stumble backwards at the force of the blow, clutching his face in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Zabini's cry of pain was enough of a deterrent to keep anyone else from stepping forward to help.

When Scorpius's mind cleared enough to comprehend the bloody mess that he had made of Goyle's now unconscious form, he quickly shoved himself to his feet. With that done, the only thought in his mind was that he had to get to Rose. He mindlessly punched his way through Zabini and the few others who were insane enough to get in his way, then leaped through the entrance to the Slytherin common room and sprinted towards the stairs.

As quickly as he could, he made his way up the staircase towards Gryffindor Tower, taking the steps two at a time in his desperate attempt to find Rose. His thoughts were racing, flashing picture after picture of her lying in a pool of her own blood, her neck at an impossible angle, and her eyes lifeless—open and staring. No! He couldn't think like that. She had to be alive. She had to be okay. She just had to be.

When he reached the third floor landing, his eyes swept frantically across the floor. There was no sign of her. Someone must have found her and taken her to the hospital wing. Please, _God_, let someone have found her in time. Spinning on his heel, Scorpius changed direction, heading towards the hospital wing at breakneck speed.

He couldn't stop the images that were running through his mind. Rose's broken body; the way Goyle had shoved her to what could easily have been her death without a second thought; how he had just left her there, alone and hurt, while he went off to brag about it to his friends.

Scorpius was sure he was going insane. It felt like every fiber of his being was in agony, not knowing where Rose was. Not knowing how badly she was hurt. Not knowing if she was—_no. _She was alive. She had to be alive. He would never forgive himself if she wasn't. After Goyle's first attack on her, he should have made sure that the bastard suffered for it. He should have made sure that there was no way that he could ever lay a finger on Rose again. Instead, he had just assumed that it would be all right. That it was over. That whatever punishments the Weasley/Potter clan had inflicted upon the evil son of a bitch had been enough. He should have seen this coming. He knew that Goyle was a sick, sadistic coward. He should have known that he would try something like this.

The horrifying images playing in his head as he ran at full speed, combined with a fear so palpable that he could almost taste it's thick, coppery essence, were making it very difficult to draw breath. Never in his life had Scorpius been this panicked. He needed to see her. He needed to see Rose.

Finally, he reached the corridor leading to the hospital wing. His shoes skidded across the floor as he rounded the corner, his heart pounding so hard that he could hear it hammering in his ears.

* * *

Scorpius froze in the doorway to the hospital wing. Rose was seated on one of the beds, Madam Pomfrey tending to her wounds. At least she was sitting up. That had to be a good sign. He forced himself to breathe, attempting to push down the panic that had been clawing at his chest throughout the entire journey from the Slytherin common room. Scorpius continued to regulate his breathing, waiting for a glimpse of the woman he was completely in love with.

Her parents were standing slightly off to the side, whispering to one another while studying their daughter with expressions of concern. That couldn't be a good sign. If her parents had been called she must have been in bad shape. Scorpius stood still, his stomach turning, watching the scene unfold before him. He needed to see that Rose was whole, that she was going to be all right. Finally, the elderly nurse stepped aside, giving him a clear view to the beautiful, and slightly battered redhead who was now looking straight at him.

"Scorpius," she breathed.

Ron's head whipped around to face the doorway, contempt flashing in his eyes. "Come to see the results of your little stunt, eh Malfoy?" he sneered.

"Dad, I told you. It wasn't him. It was Goyle," Rose insisted.

Ron let out a derisive snort. "Of course. Just like your father. Using a Goyle to do your dirty work."

Rose huffed, exasperated. "He had nothing to do with it."

"I'm just gonna…" Scorpius trailed off, turning to leave.

"Scor," Rose called out. He looked back at her, a question wavering in his stormy grey eyes. "Come here," she whispered.

His gaze flickered nervously between Ron and Hermione before coming back to rest on Rose. She ignored his uneasiness and merely lifted her arms towards him, beckoning him closer with her hands. "Come on. _Please_?"

Scorpius's resolve broke. In just a few long strides, he was in front of her, catching her up in his embrace and burying his face in her hair. Rose wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and held on for dear life. She could feel him shaking and she gently rubbed one of her hands up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him.

"God, Rose. I heard them talking and I thought…" he murmured brokenly.

Rose pressed her lips to the curve of his neck. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm okay." She kissed him again, running her hand up his spine to stroke his hair. "I'm all right."

Scorpius drew in a shuddering breath, allowing her gentle words and the subtle scent of her lavender shampoo to calm him. As she continued her caresses, Rose felt the tension slowly drain from his body. She breathed him in and let the strength of his embrace comfort her in return.

Finally feeling a bit steadier, Scorpius pulled back, taking her face in his hands and looking her up and down, assessing injuries. "How bad?"

"Bumps and bruises. And a ton of broken bones, but Madam Pomfrey's fixed most of those already."

The muscles of Scorpius's jaw clenched as he took in the wounds still marring Rose's body. She reached up to smooth away the tension there, cupping his cheek in her palm. He sighed and leaned into her touch. Suddenly, he inhaled sharply and pulled her close to him again, wrapping his arms around her and holding on as if he never wanted to let her go.

"I just need another minute," he whispered, clutching her body tightly to his, although he was still sure to be gentle enough not to hurt her any further. "I love you so much," he breathed into her hair. "I'm so, so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you."

"Hey," Rose pulled back, framing his face in her hands. "It's not your fault. Okay?" She stretched up while tugging him down, so that she could press her lips to his. "I love you. It's not your fault."

Scorpius nodded, leaning down and touching his forehead to hers.

At the sound of a loudly clearing throat, Rose and Scorpius both jumped, but did not completely relinquish their hold on one another. Their eyes locked. Moment of truth. Taking a fortifying breath, they turned in unison to see Ron staring them down, a murderous expression on his face.

"Does somebody want to tell me what the _hell_ is going on here?"

* * *

******So now Ron and Hermione know! Home stretch, folks! And there are only two more chapters left! I still can't believe it. **And another cliffhanger. I'm sorry! Two in a row. I know, I'm evil :P

**The next chapter is..."Surprise!" Parental reactions, Albus humor, the rest of the school finding out, etc. Lots to look forward to. Hope to see you next time!**


	27. Surprise!

**Author's Note: Hello lovely readers :) Here is the penultimate chapter of "A Fine Line!" No cliffhanger at the end of this one, I promise :P**

**I really don't have much to say in my author's note for this one - I'll just let you get right to it, especially after I tortured you with suspense for two chapters in a row. ****As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 26: Surprise!**

_"Does somebody want to tell me what the _hell_ is going on here?"_

Hermione placed a restraining hand on her fuming husband's arm. Ron's face had darkened to a startling shade of red and he looked like he was about to explode.

"Dad," Rose cautioned. "Don't freak out."

"Don't freak out?!" Ron bellowed. "But you—he—I—"

"Give her a chance to explain, Ron," Hermione told him calmly. She was eyeing her daughter, a contemplative expression on her face.

Ron let out a frustrated half-scream, spinning to face his wife. "This is all _McGonagall's_ fault!" he spat. "She insists on making the two of them get along and now _this_ happens?!"

"Ron, just before Scorpius came in you were complaining to me that Professor McGonagall's plan _didn't_ work and now you're complaining that it worked _too_ well?" Hermione asked.

"They were supposed to stop trying to kill each other! Just act a bit friendlier towards one another. And now, because of _her_, they're _way _too friendly!"

"Um…that's not exactly true…" Rose spoke up.

_"What?"_ Ron demanded, turning on his daughter.

She winced slightly before summoning her courage and diving in. "See…we haven't exactly been honest with you guys," she admitted.

Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "Would you care to explain that Rose?"

Rose looked over at Scorpius's for a moment. He regarded her calmly, his clear grey gaze communicating unwavering support. She took a deep breath. "You and the Malfoys hate each other so much, but a while back, Scorpius and I realized that _we_ didn't hate each other. We knew that you would never accept the fact that we have feelings for one another, so we did the only thing we could—we tried to fix things."

Ron spluttered a bit, but both of her parents remained silent. Scorpius gently stroked his hand up and down Rose's back and his solid presence beside her gave her enough strength to continue. "We made it seem like we were willing to kill each other so that you guys would all have to move past your old rivalry. We didn't know what else to do…" Rose trailed off.

There were several moments of tense silence before Hermione finally spoke up. "Now it all makes sense," she nodded thoughtfully. "I never could figure out why you would choose to use a spell that dangerous, Rose. Your rivalry with Scorpius had never made me think that you would go that far."

"Yeah," Rose whispered, her gaze fixed warily on her father. She was dreading his reaction.

Ron's eyes had remained narrowed on Scorpius as if he would like nothing more than to strangle the young man, but despite the intensity of his glare, Scorpius couldn't seem to stop himself from touching Rose. After the terror he had felt earlier when he hadn't known if she was alive, he couldn't help the impulse to just keep a hand on her. He needed to be connected to her in some small way; to reassure himself that she was really there, that she was really whole.

_"It makes **sense?"**_ Ron hissed. "What part of _him_ having his hands on our daughter makes **_sense_?"**

"I'm not sure that's the issue, Ron." Hermione blushed, feeling slightly ashamed, as she attempted to get her husband's attention.

_"Then what __**is**__?!"_

"We made our daughter feel that she needed to hide her feelings from us. We made her think that she needed to come up with a crazy plan in order to be accepted by her parents."

Ron was not definitely not appeased. "'_Mione_, are you **_seriously_** suggesting that—"

The sound of running feet and urgent voices interrupted Ron's rant, drawing everyone's attention to the entrance of the hospital ward. Albus rushed in, followed by Ava, Hugo, Roxanne, and Melinda Longbottom. They had clearly heard about the attack on Rose and come to check on her immediately.

Albus stopped short at the sight of Rose and Scorpius facing off with a very red-faced Ron. He quickly took stock of the situation in front of him. "Oh, look everyone! We're just in time for the floor show!" With a large and dramatic sweeping gesture, Albus turned to his friends and cousins. "Allow me to present, _Uncle Ron: Hospital Clown!_" He looked over to see Scorpius standing very close to Rose, his hand still on the small of her back, despite the tension in the room. "And there appears to be a snake in the lions' den," he announced in a mock whisper.

Ron glared at his nephew. "You know, Albus. I really wish you hadn't of gotten Ginny's sense of humor."

Albus shrugged. "James got her eyes, I got her sense of humor…I think Lily had the best luck of all of us, though. She inherited Mum's Bat Bogey Hex. It's scary, honestly." He paused, cocking his head as if in thought. "Although I suppose it does balance out the unfortunate ginger hair—sorry Rose," he smirked.

Rose merely shot him an exasperated look. She wasn't sure who he thought he was helping.

Ava, Melinda, and Hugo had all been aware of the change in relationship status between Rose and Scorpius, but Roxie's jaw dropped at the sight of them. "What is—when did _that_ happen?" she exclaimed.

"Some time ago," Ava murmured.

Roxie glanced at the faces around her, somewhat indignant. "You all knew? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Oh, Roxie. You know you can't keep a secret," Albus informed her gently.

For a moment, Roxie looked as if she was going to object, but then merely shrugged. "I suppose that's fair."

Ron had not missed the exchange. _"You knew?"_ he demanded of his nephew and son.

Hugo gulped, nodding. Albus resolutely straightened his spine and made his way across the room to Rose's bed as casually as possible. He positioned himself next to Rose and Scorpius, clearly communicating the fact that he was on their side. "I knew."

Ron's face twisted in anger.

"Ron, sweetheart, take a deep breath," Hermione urged him, her voice soothing. "Remember the conversation we had about Scorpius over Christmas? He's not his father."

"B-but—" Ron stammered.

"It's our _daughter_, Ron. She's a smart girl. Try and trust her for a minute."

"But they _lied!"_

"I know." Hermione's expression hardened a bit. "And they're going to answer for that, but it's not as if we didn't give them a reason to."

Ron gaped for a second before closing his mouth and staring at his wife. Taking advantage of the momentary lack of arguing, Albus looked over at Rose. "You okay, Rosie?"

"Yeah. I'm okay," she assured him.

_"Good,"_ Albus breathed out before turning to Scorpius. He placed a hand on the Slytherin's shoulder. "How are _you_ doing, mate?"

Scorpius sighed. He leaned in to place a kiss on Rose's temple. "Better than I was."

"Yeah…" Albus tilted his head in question. "How did you find out about what happened, anyway? The rumors are only just starting to get around."

"I ran into Goyle in the Common Room," Scorpius answered, his tone icy and far too controlled. "He was bragging about it. So I dealt with him."

Rose stiffened at the sound of the violence dripping from his voice during his last statement. "Please tell me that you didn't kill him."

"No, I knocked him out…with my fist…and then rushed straight here."

Rose twisted so that she could pull his right hand out from behind her back, examining the damage to his knuckles. They were red and scraped, the joints already beginning to swell. "This looks like more than just one punch, Scor."

Scorpius shrugged. "He has a hard face." At her stern look, he relented. "I may have hit him several times. I lost track for a moment." He leaned down to press his lips to her forehead. "Don't worry. He was still breathing when I left."

"How are you so casual about this?"

Scorpius's eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. "The fucker tried to kill you, Rose. I'm not all that concerned about his well-being. To be honest, I'm probably going to regret leaving him alive but at the time I was a _bit_ preoccupied with getting to _you_."

"_Scor_—" Rose began, her tone slightly reproachful.

"Leave him be, Rosie," Ron interrupted. Rose turned to gape at her father, slightly stunned. He was looking at Scorpius, a considering expression on his face. When Scorpius caught his eye, Ron nodded, more than a little impressed with how the boy had handled himself when it came to Rose's attacker.

"Dad—?"

"He did right," Ron told her. "Don't scold him for that."

Ron maintained eye contact with Scorpius for another moment, and an understanding seemed to pass between them. Anyone who was willing to fight that hard for his daughter deserved the benefit of the doubt in Ron's mind. Apparently Draco Malfoy's son had guts, and his desire to protect Rose caused Ron to instantly revise his previous negative opinions. Not that he wanted to welcome the boy to the family or anything. But he clearly wasn't the enemy.

"All right, everyone!" Madam Pomfrey's voice cut through the air. "It's getting late. I've already extended visiting hours far longer than I should have. Rose needs her rest after everything she's been through today."

Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but quickly acquiesced at the stern expression on the elderly matron's face. Hermione ran her hand down his arm soothingly before stepping towards her daughter. Scorpius backed away and let Rose's parents say goodnight. He averted his eyes as a slightly teary-eyed Hermione embraced Rose, promising that they would be back to check on her the next day, and a clearly emotional Ron pressed a tender kiss to his daughter's forehead, telling her how much they loved her. Finally, the Weasley's left the hospital wing, followed by the rest of Rose's visitors.

Scorpius sighed, wrapping Rose up in his arms one more time. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered. He pulled back. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Rose smiled up at him. She leaned forward to capture his lips in a searing kiss. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

Scorpius closed the door to the Room of Requirement behind him and slumped back against it. He hadn't wanted to risk returning to the Slytherin dorm to sleep after punching his way through the majority of the sixth and seventh year boys earlier during his frantic dash to get to Rose. Somehow, it just seemed safer to avoid any contact with them until they were able to be dealt with by the proper authorities. And, honestly, Scorpius was just too worn out to be around _anyone_ at that particular moment.

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius pushed off of the door and made his way across the room to the enormous bed, pulling off clothes as he went. He was exhausted. He crawled under the covers and curled up, closing his eyes to the world and the incredible range of emotion he had experienced that day.

Two hours later, he was still unable to fall asleep. His body was completely drained of energy and his eyelids felt heavier than he could ever remember them being, but for some reason, he was completely incapable of turning his mind off. Part of the problem was the fact that the bed felt very empty. He had never spent the night in this bed without Rose lying beside him. Now, especially after having almost lost her, Scorpius felt her absence acutely.

Shoving the covers back in frustration, Scorpius stretched out across the bed. Finally, he groaned and pushed himself to his feet. There was no way that he was ever going to be able to fall asleep without Rose there. He might as well just give up trying.

He dressed quietly, leaving his jumper and tie on the floor, and slipped back out into the hallway. In an effort to avoid any wandering prefects or professors, Scorpius kept to the shadows as he stole his way through the silent corridors. When he reached the hospital wing, he scanned the ward for Madam Pomfrey. Luckily, it was completely dark and the only signs of life came from the even breaths of the beautiful redhead sleeping deeply in a bed across the room.

Scorpius made his way over to her, careful not to make any noises that might wake her, or alert the matron to his presence. He knew that visiting in the middle of the night was not likely to inspire a positive reaction in the aged nurse.

He lowered himself into the chair next to Rose's bed. She was fast asleep, her face relaxed into an expression of complete serenity. She deserved the chance to rest like this. She had been through so much that day, and it had clearly exhausted her completely. First the physical demands of the Quidditch match, then Goyle's unprovoked attack, then the healing, and to top it all off, her parents had found out about her relationship with him. Even with magic, the repairing of injuries as extensive as Rose's had been inevitably took a toll on the patient's body. And the emotional upheaval that facing off against her father had generated could not have helped.

Calmed by the sound of her breathing, Scorpius leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, satisfied that Rose truly was all right. Just as he started to drift off to sleep, he heard the sound of her shifting on the bed.

"Scorpius?" Rose whispered, squinting at him through the dark.

"Hey," he smiled, sliding forward in his chair so that he could take her hand. He held it in both of his own and bent his head to place a kiss to the center of her palm. "How are you feeling, Rosebud?"

Rose's lips quirked. "Better." She glanced around her at the unlit room. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," Scorpius answered, gently stroking his fingers over the inside of her wrist, comforted by the fact that he could feel the steady thrum of her pulse beneath her skin.

"I'm fine," Rose assured him, her voice barely audible. "I promise."

Scorpius nodded, lowering his lips to their entwined hands. "Yeah."

"You still owe me, you know."

"What?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Don't think that this little distraction will make me forget, Malfoy," Rose informed him. "There's no way I'm letting you welch on our bet. I still plan on collecting the spoils, thank you very much."

For the first time since Goyle had walked into the common room that afternoon, Scorpius found himself laughing. "How about a rain check?"

"Deal."

* * *

When the news of Rose's assisted tumble down the stairs began to spread throughout the school, the overwhelming consensus was that it must have been Scorpius's hand that pushed her. Then, less than twenty-four hours after she had been admitted to the hospital wing, several Slytherins, including a very bruised-looking Augustus Goyle and Francis Zabini, were seen being hauled away by Magical Law Enforcement Patrol Officers. McGonagall was heard muttering that, this time, she was more than happy to pass the group off to someone else to be punished officially. Goyle was now seventeen, along with the majority of his accomplices, and as such he would have to deal with the legal ramifications of attempted murder.

Suddenly, the student body exploded with gossip.

Emilie Harlow, a sixth year Slytherin, was heard whispering about how Scorpius Malfoy had beaten Goyle and the others to a pulp before charging out of the Slytherin common room in a panic at the news that Goyle had attacked Rose. While some students were inclined to believe this highly unlikely account due in part to its incredibly scandalous nature, the vast majority were skeptical. After all, Emilie was known for flights of fancy. This did not stop people from continuing to spread the rumor, however.

Silvia Vimes's breakdown of events was much more logical. She firmly insisted that, when Rose had implicated Goyle and the other Slytherins in her injuries, her fellow Weasley/Potters had immediately leaped into action and delivered swift retribution. Due to the fact that Scorpius Malfoy had not been seen around the school since the incident had occurred, Silvia declared that he must still be locked away in the dungeons somewhere awaiting his fate at the hands of Rose's extensive and devious family members.

Joshua Harrelson, a fourth year Hufflepuff, was convinced that Scorpius had indeed punched Goyle, although it was surely because he had wanted to be the one to kill Rose and he was worried that Goyle had usurped his position as Rose's tormenter.

Beatrice Ceminsky argued that the injuries reportedly sustained by Goyle and his cronies must have been thoroughly exaggerated. They had most likely earned their bruises during a scuffle over the Quidditch match and not as the result of their actions against Rose.

Rowena Sneed said that she overheard someone talking in the fourth floor girl's lavatory about the fact that they had heard that Rose's cousins had assumed that the attack had been by Scorpius and so they had gone after him only to later find out that it had been Goyle who had pushed Rose down the stairs.

Ariella Gould snapped at a gossiping group of third years that it was really none of their business and hadn't Rose been through enough without everyone talking about her behind her back?

By the time classes resumed on Monday morning, the rumors were running rampant across the school and no one seemed to be able to agree on exactly what had transpired. Or what it all meant.

When Rose and Scorpius finally emerged, they were plagued by whispers. Everywhere they went, people were staring—even more than usual. With the added scrutiny, they were more careful than ever to avoid their secret getting out. After the drama of the weekend, having to deal with the inevitable freak out that was bound to result from the student body discovering their relationship was the last thing they needed.

The sight of Scorpius's battered knuckles, which he had neglected to ask Madam Pomfrey to heal in the face of his overwhelming concern for Rose, exacerbated an already overworked gossip mill. Something was going on, and the occupants of Hogwarts were dying to know the whole story.

A week later, their curiosity had still failed to die down, in spite of the fact that no new information had been gained in that time. The constant attention was starting to wear on Rose and Scorpius. They could not set foot in the corridors without everyone noticing them, and immediately breaking out into hushed conversation. It was making it very difficult for them to find a moment alone. Sneaking off to be together was a virtual impossibility, and the lack of contact was causing both teenagers to become very cranky. And the hearts and cupids decorating the entire castle for Valentine's Day were definitely not helping matters.

On the evening of February 14th, Scorpius dragged himself into the Great Hall for dinner. It had been two days since he had been alone with Rose and he was completely and totally fed up. He missed her. He sent an involuntary glance through the hundreds of floating hearts and candles, towards the Gryffindor table, as he moved to take his place with the other Slytherins. And there she was.

Rose was seated with her friends and family, but her eyes were locked on Scorpius. He felt the familiar, yet no less powerful clench in his gut that he experienced whenever her piercing blue gaze was trained on him. Eye contact with Rose was visceral. He could almost feel the connection pulsing between them and, suddenly, the distance was unbearable. Then, Albus said something to her from across the table and she looked away, her attention shifting to her cousin.

Enough was enough. Scorpius had had more than his fill of pretending that nothing was going on between them. "Rose!" he called out, his voice rising above the muffled roar of the Great Hall.

She turned back to look at him again, raising an eyebrow in question. He never called her Rose in public. Her breath caught in her throat at the determined look on his face as he strode towards her. This was going to be interesting.

When Scorpius reached her, he didn't even hesitate before plunging his hand into her scarlet curls, wrapping his fingers around the back of her neck, and pulling her lips up to his. A collective gasp, followed by a stunned silence permeated the Great Hall. Oblivious to the incredulous stares, the Weasley/Potters began to cheer and Albus raised his fingers to his lips to let out an ear-piercing wolf whistle.

Rose smiled into Scorpius's mouth, bringing her arms up to wrap around his shoulders and sinking further into him. She tilted her head, changing the angle of the kiss and ratcheting the heat level up from simmer to scorch. Hell, if they were going to do this, they might as well do it right. Tongues tangled, teeth nipped, and hearts began to race.

Finally, Rose eased back just enough to catch her breath. "You really had to do this on Valentine's Day?" she asked, a wry grin plastered to her face. "You're such a sap."

"Shut up," he smiled against her lips.

* * *

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you first," Scorpius murmured later that evening. They were curled together on the couch in the Room of Requirement in an attempt to escape all of the scrutiny that their very public display of affection in the Great Hall had incited. They knew it would die down eventually, the occupants of Hogwarts had notoriously short attention spans when it came to this sort of thing, but for the moment it was nice to just have some time alone.

"What?" Rose asked, resting her chin on his chest so that she could look up into his face.

"I just kissed you. You didn't have a chance to decide whether you wanted to wait to let everyone know about us."

Rose smiled. "I'm perfectly all right with that. I was tired of hiding too," she assured him.

"Okay. Good." Scorpius pressed his lips to her hair. "Now that your parents know…along with the rest of the school…" He took a deep breath. "I need to tell my parents. Preferably before they hear about it from somewhere else."

"Your mother already knows."

"Yeah, she—wait _what_?" Scorpius stuttered.

"Your mother already knows," Rose repeated.

"What do you mean she already knows?"

"What do you think I mean?" She rolled her eyes.

"_Rose_—" Scorpius growled.

Rose sighed. "When you saw the two of us in the kitchen at your house over Christmas?"

"You _told_ her?!" Scorpius exclaimed, quickly sitting up and jostling Rose in the process.

"Of course not," Rose objected, a bit insulted. "She figured it out."

"How?"

"She figured it out. She saw us looking at each other over dinner. Said something about how she wasn't blinded by old rivalries." Rose swallowed, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "And then she saw you sneaking into my room."

Scorpius groaned, covering his face with his hand. "Well…that's embarrassing."

"_Yeah_," Rose retorted. "Imagine how _I_ felt. I'm the one who had to have a conversation with her about it."

"Sorry about that," Scorpius mumbled.

"But you're right. We need to tell them soon. It wouldn't be fair to them to find out from anyone but you."

"I want to do it in person, but the next holiday is too far away. The wizarding world is a small place. They're bound to hear the rumors by then."

"You could always ask them to come visit you," Rose suggested. "Tell them you need to speak with them. I'm sure they'd come if you owled."

Scorpius nodded. "Good idea. I'll send them a note tomorrow. Hopefully it'll reach them before the gossip does." He let out a frustrated breath. "We should have waited on that kiss until I told them. I owed it to my parents to tell them first, and now they're the last to know."

"That can't be helped. And I'm glad that we don't have to hide this anymore," Rose whispered, levering herself up so that she could catch his lips with her own.

"I just couldn't stand it anymore," Scorpius breathed, running his fingers down her cheek.

"I'm not complaining."

* * *

"What is this about, Scorpius?" Draco asked, his tone slightly worried. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Scorpius reassured his father. He hadn't missed the knowing glance that his mother sent Rose the instant they had entered the room. They were gathered in an empty classroom on the third floor and, despite Scorpius's insistence that it might be easier if he came clean to his father alone, Rose was adamant that since he had been there when her father found out the truth, it was only fair that she be there when he told his.

The previous day, Scorpius had been anxious to get this meeting over with, but now, he didn't quite feel ready. The wary concern on Draco's face was doing nothing to calm his nerves. Taking a deep breath, Scorpius glanced over at his mother. Her soft smile did wonders. Hermione had helped diffuse Ron's temper the day before. Surely Astoria could do the same for Draco.

"Dad…" Scorpius began. "We have something to tell you."

"I had assumed," Draco commented sardonically.

"Draco," Astoria admonished. "Let the boy speak."

"Well…you see…Rose and I have been seeing each other," he finished quickly, chancing a look at his father's face.

For a moment, Draco merely stared. Then, his usually pale face began to redden. _"Excuse me?"_

Scorpius swallowed hard and reached down, clasping his hand around Rose's. The contact stabilized him. "Rose and I have been seeing each other," he repeated. "We were afraid to tell you because we knew how you and her father would react, so we hid it."

Draco's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally found his words. "So you lied to us."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Scorpius whispered, hanging his head. "We didn't know what else to do—_I_ didn't know what else to do."

"That is no excuse for—" Draco began in a raised voice. He stopped short when Astoria firmly pressed her hand to his back. He spun to look at her, narrowing his eyes at the meaningful expression on her face. "You knew," he accused.

"I knew. And after seeing you and Rose's father together, I completely understand why they felt they couldn't tell us." She continued to stare steadily into her husband's eyes. Under her unwavering gaze, Draco took a few deep breaths, calming himself.

Finally, he turned back to Rose and Scorpius, taking in the guarded expressions on their faces. "You were afraid I wouldn't accept this. That I would forbid it?"

Scorpius nodded, his fingers tightening on Rose's.

"I see…" Draco murmured. "How long has this been going on?"

"A while," Scorpius admitted.

"Since _before_ your big fight?" Draco asked.

"Yes." At his father's raised eyebrow, Scorpius continued, "We'll explain the whole thing."

Draco let out a long breath. "Well…all right then."

* * *

**Just a side note: I was originally not going to set this on Valentine's Day, although it was going to take place in the second week of February. Then, LiveLaughLoveToRead commented that, since Scorpius calls her Poinsettia on Christmas, it would be cute if he called her Rose on Valentine's Day. It was such a sickeningly sweet idea that I just couldn't resist :)**

**And the next and final chapter is the Epilogue, which will take place five years later. Hope to see you next time!**


	28. Epilogue

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Well, here it is...the final chapter. Wow, that's kind of really sad to think about :( I feel like I'm sending my children off to college or something. I can't believe how wonderful it has been writing this story and getting to know a few of you. I'm going to write a big thank you and preview of coming attractions at the end of the epilogue, but I'll give a quick overview: **

**1. I am ****_not _****finished writing Rose and Scorpius. While there will not be a sequel due to the fact that I refuse to write a fic without a solid story arc, there will be numerous one-shots that will continue this story, following Rose and Scorpius throughout the rest of their lives. Some will be smutty, some will be sweet, and some will deal with more angsty moments in their lives. I can promise you that they will always have a happily ever after, though. Once I have characters commit to one another, I very rarely do anything to break them up. I'm much more interested in how people work out problems within a relationship, and see-sawing between make-ups and break-ups bores me. I won't write anything soap operatic, so don't worry that I'm going to ruin the good vibes this story ends on. As requested by Condiotti and PadfootandProngsEverdeen4eva, the first one will be the results of Rose and Scorpius's little bet. I have several others started already too, but more on that later.**

**2. Rose and Scorpius will also be making several cameo appearances in the multi-chapter fic I'm planning on writing, starring Albus and my OC, Ava. Again, see the author's note at the end for details.**

**3. I just want to say that I love you all. Everyone has been so supportive and I have a very special place in my heart for everyone who has taken the time to Review, Follow, or Favorite this story. I cannot even begin to tell you how much it means that you're willing to read something that I've written. I have done my very best to respond to each and every review by PM but, for all of my guest reviewers out there, thank you. Please keep in touch, all of you, whether through my other stories or PMs. I would love to hear from you. It really has been a pleasure writing this story for you all. **

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy the end of 'A Fine Line.' Please don't forget to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Epilogue**

**5 Years Later**

The sounds of raised voices and raucous laughter filled the magically enlarged living room at the Burrow. Rose crossed the crowded space, weaving her way through friends and relatives, on the way over to the couch where Scorpius was sitting. She ducked under the banner that read "Congratulations Rose and Scorpius" and smiled as several people stopped to give her a pat on the back as she passed. Finally, she emerged from the throng of party guests and settled beside her new fiancé with a sigh.

"This place is insane," she murmured as she curled her feet up beneath her and leaned into Scorpius's side. Her right hand moved, of its own accord, to toy with the gorgeous diamond on her left ring finger. She couldn't stop playing with it—checking to see that it was really there.

"Isn't it always insane?" Scorpius laughed, laying his arm across her shoulders and running his fingers through her hair.

"Good point."

It had been a little over five years since they had finally come clean to their parents about their relationship, although it still felt as if it had been only yesterday that they were skulking around in broom closets and empty classrooms in an attempt to hide their feelings for each other. Two weeks earlier, the night before Scorpius was scheduled to begin his first shift as a Healer at St. Mungo's, he had taken Rose out for a relaxing evening with their brooms and proposed in midair. Despite the fact that it had been quite apparent that marriage was where they were headed, Rose had been floored.

She tilted her head back so that she could look up into Scorpius's eyes. They had come so far since their heated rivalry at Hogwarts. Back then, they had been completely unaware of who they were and what they could be together. Now, Scorpius was dedicated to healing the sick, and Rose was working hard as a Curse-breaker for Gringotts alongside her Uncle Bill. Somehow, they had become adults.

A screech from across the room drew their attention. Melinda Longbottom leaped up from where she had been seated beside her current boyfriend—Lorcan Scamander had moved off to Eastern Europe to work with dragons and their relationship had slowly faded away—and whirled to face James. If the green substance dripping from her hair was any indication, one of James Potter's stunts had seriously misfired.

"_James Sirius Potter!_ You are _dead_!" Melinda shrieked, lunging at him.

Raising his hands in front of him in surrender, James quickly retreated. "I'm sorry, Mel! It was a complete accident, I swear."

"Oh, like I'm going to believe that!"

"It's the truth!" James retorted, his tone slightly offended.

Melinda snorted derisively, still advancing on him, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It really was an accident," Albus spoke up in his brother's defense.

"See? I didn't mean it!" James insisted, his eyes pleading for mercy.

Melinda cocked her head in consideration. She turned to Albus. "He's telling the truth?"

"Yup," Albus answered. "He was aiming for your boyfriend."

"_Uh oh,"_ Rose muttered under her breath as Melinda slowly pivoted to face James again.

"Should we do something?" Scorpius whispered, the amusement in his eyes showing that he had absolutely no desire to interfere in such an entertaining scene.

Rose watched as Melinda's hand shot forward, latching onto James's wrist and hauling him out of the room behind her. "Nah, I think it's best to just let nature run its course." She caught a glimpse of Melinda shoving James into the pantry and slamming the door shut behind them. What she wouldn't give to be a fly on that wall…or to currently be in possession of an Extendable Ear.

She shifted a bit so that she could snuggle further into Scorpius's side.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It looks like our fathers might actually get through the evening without too much hostility," he observed, nodding his head to the other side of the room, where Draco and Ron were standing.

Since the relationship between their children had been established, Ron and Draco had formed an uneasy acquaintanceship, based primarily on insulting one another. They no longer had the horrible fights that had characterized the first year or so of Rose and Scorpius's public courtship, although they still had their instances of animosity. At the moment, however, it seemed that they were getting along, as was evidenced by the fact that they were currently getting drunk together.

Astoria and Hermione had worked hard to ease the tension between their families, unwilling to make their children suffer any further for a rivalry that had started long before they were even born. It quickly became apparent just how much Ron and Draco loved their wives—and their children—because they were truly making an effort to end the feud between the Malfoys and the Weasleys. While they would not be gathered around a fire singing Kumbaya any time soon, Rose and Scorpius no longer had to worry that their fathers were going to attempt to kill each other at family gatherings. Slowly but surely, they were moving on from their complicated past.

While their husbands poured yet another shot of firewhiskey, Hermione and Astoria watched them out of the corner of their eyes. Satisfied that they were getting along, the women turned back to the table in front of them, on which they had spread out pages and pages of wedding plans.

"We just got engaged," Rose whispered to Scorpius, shaking her head. "What do they think, we're going to change our minds? If they don't immediately figure out exactly what kind of flowers and what color table linens we're going to have, then the wedding won't actually happen?"

"Who knows," Scorpius responded. "I learned a long time ago not to try and figure out what's going on in my mother's head." He rested his cheek against her temple. "Let them have their fun. I'll take this enthusiasm over them being against us any day."

"Very true." After a moment, Rose laughed.

"What?"

"It's just amazing to think that a few years ago, we had to come up with some convoluted plan to get them to be okay with us being together."

"Hey, it was a good plan," Scorpius protested.

"It was a very good plan. Who would have thought?"

Scorpius placed his hand beneath her chin turning her face so that he could kiss her. "We've certainly come a long way, Daisy."

Rose's lips tipped up. "You've done that one a lot already, you know."

"Have I?"

"Yes. It was the first name you ever called me. _And_ it was the one you used the first time we said 'I love you.'"

Scorpius smiled. "Well, let's call it nostalgia then."

"As opposed to you simply running out of ideas?" Rose teased. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his, marveling at just how much things had changed between them since they had met.

* * *

Scorpius rose a few minutes later to go refill Rose's drink, leaving her to relax on the couch. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the sight of everyone she loved gathered around to celebrate her and Scorpius. Rose couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the thought of being married to him. Of spending the rest of her life with him.

"Someone looks happy."

Rose looked up to see Neville approaching. "I am happy."

"Good," Neville smiled, taking the seat beside her. "Congratulations, Rosie."

"Thanks." Rose paused for a moment before turning to face him. "I don't think we ever really thanked you properly for keeping our secret—for being on our side. I can't tell you how much it meant that you were willing to hide it from my father."

Neville huffed, slightly embarrassed. "It was the least I could do for my goddaughter."

"Still…thank you. I'm glad it hasn't caused any problems between you and my dad." Rose leaned over, pressing her lips to his cheek. "You're the best."

Neville blushed before stammering out a, "you're welcome," and heading back across the room to his wife.

* * *

"I still think Rosie's too good for you, you know."

Scorpius looked up from the butterbeer he was currently pouring into Rose's glass to see Ron glaring at him petulantly. His lips quirked. "Oh, I know. But by some miracle, she doesn't seem to think so, and I'm going to enjoy it for as long as it takes her to realize she can do so much better."

"Did you rehearse that answer?"

"Why? Did it work?"

"Smartass," Ron grumbled, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder before reaching beneath the makeshift bar to grab another bottle of firewhiskey and turning to walk away.

Ron crossed the room to Draco, popping open the new bottle and distributing it between their respective glasses. Scorpius watched, somewhat amused, as the two men immediately began arguing about who was going to pay for the wedding. Although the quarrel was becoming heated, it wasn't anywhere near as malicious as it would have been a few years ago. He had to keep from laughing aloud as Astoria and Hermione made their way over to their husbands to break them up, and the two men instantly fell silent, looking thoroughly scolded.

"At this rate, there's a chance they might actually get along by the time their grandchildren are ready to walk down the aisle," Rose commented wryly, coming to stand beside him.

Scorpius smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist. He knew that the idea of grandchildren was one of the things that had ultimately helped create the tenuous bond that their fathers presently shared. They had resigned themselves to the fact that their children wanted to be together, but found the idea of having little ones to spoil a great consolation.

Rose turned her head, pressing a kiss to Scorpius's shoulder. "He's wrong, you know."

"Hmm?"

"My dad. He's wrong. I'm not too good for you."

"Yeah, you are. But I love the fact that you don't see that."

"Scor," Rose insisted, pulling him around so that she could look up into his face. "There's no one better for me than you."

Scorpius exhaled sharply and crushed his mouth down to hers, causing a chorus of cat calls and wolf whistles to erupt from the gathered audience. "I love you," he whispered when he finally came up for air.

"I love you too," Rose smiled up at him. "Always will."

**THE END**

* * *

**And that's all folks! Wow. It's so incredibly hard to believe. When I started this story, over 100,000 words ago, I truly wasn't sure that I would be able to write the entire thing. And I never expected that so many people would take an interest. I finally decided to give in and write it when I just could not get the plot, or the characters, out of my head. Rose and Scorpius were such a joy to get to know and I truly fell in love with them, as well as several other characters who completely took me by surprise (Albus for one). I cannot thank all of you enough for giving me the opportunity to share this story with you. Your kind words and enthusiasm for my writing mean more than I could ever even begin to say.**

**I will begin posting one-shots for Rose and Scorpius as soon as I write them. I have three started, with ideas for at least four more. I can pretty much guarantee that I will get even more ideas as time goes on. And one-shots give me the opportunity to just spend a couple of hours with them, and hammer out the story, without worrying too much about chronological order. If you have any moments in Rose and Scorpius's life together that you would really like to read about, feel free to let me know. If the idea sparks my creativity, I'll be more than happy to write it. I would love to take your requests and will dedicate whatever stories I write to those who were kind enough to recommend the idea. I don't want to give too much away, but here are a few of the titles of one-shots that I'm planning/writing at the moment, in no particular order..."Marry Me?;" "Mr. and Mrs. Scorpius Malfoy;" "'Til Death Do Us Part;" "Lullaby;" "No More;" "Home;" "Positive." Feel free to speculate about what they may be about :)**

**Now...I hope you'll forgive this shameless plug for Albus and Ava's story, "A Game of Secrets," but I want to try and get as many people as I can to be interested in it. Albus/OC is not something that is as commonly searched for as Rose/Scorpius, and so I couldn't resist mentioning it here...repeatedly. If you haven't done so yet, check out my outtake from "A Fine Line" titled, "What the?" for an introduction to Albus and Ava's relationship. It takes place right after Albus walks in on Rose and Scorpius kissing in the library and deals with him trying to understand exactly what he just witnessed - with Ava's help, of course. **

**Much of their story will be told as a parallel to "A Fine Line," so there will be plenty of opportunities to revisit some of your favorite moments. You will recognize some of the events that take place in both, as well as find out some behind the scenes information. There will also be several cameo appearances by Rose, because of how close her relationship with Albus is, and wherever Rose is, Scorpius can't be too far behind. :P I can tell you that one of the more important scenes in "A Game of Secrets" is going to take place at Rose and Scorpius's wedding, so I'm sure you won't want to miss that!**

**Here is the summary of "A Game of Secrets:"**

Devastated by the terrorist bombing that claimed the life of his longtime best friend - and unrequited love - Ava Mathenson, twenty-five year old Albus begins investigating the organization behind the explosion through his resources at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He discovers that the Erumpent horn powder that was used to make the explosive device was smuggled into the country illegally. The deeper he gets into the investigation, the more disturbing the details of the smuggling ring's extensive connections become. When his superiors do not take the information seriously enough, he decides to check out a warehouse owned by a shell corporation that the criminal organization is using as a front on his own. There, he stumbles across the very last person he ever thought he would find there...Ava. Soon, they are wrapped up in an international hunt for the people behind the smuggling, and the terrorists who are determined to continue planting bombs in an attempt to take out as many muggleborns as possible.

**The story will be told in a similar way to "A Fine Line," with the Prologue taking place at the chronological midpoint, then I'll go back and tell the story leading up to it, then I'll continue on from there. I'm not quite ready to begin posting it yet. I'm going to do the same thing that I did with Rose and Scorpius's story, since it seemed to work so well. I'll outline the whole thing, flesh out some of the more important scenes, and then begin posting once I feel that I can successfully complete the entire thing without month-long waits between chapters. In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the Scorose one-shots!**

**Again, thank you so much for reading my story. I hope to see you soon!**


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